Ninjago: Alliance
by ninjagosilverninja1
Summary: The city is rebuilding after the destruction of Lord Garmadon. However, soon after, an old species arises once again, and someone asks the ninja for help. Will they be able to save Ninjago again, and further more, will Lloyd be able to unlock new found powers? (Story is better than summary. Rating is for safety. Please enjoy!)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! Welcome to my new story! I'm glad to be doing this, I wanted to do this for a while and didn't know how to when to do it, so i'm jsut doing a different timeline or whatever.**

 **Note: this story is only containing one OC from previous stories, not all of them.**

 **I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago**

* * *

The land of Ninjago was peaceful. After the destruction caused by Lord Garmadon and the Sons of Garmadon, the people of ninjago decided to rebuild again, including the ninja helping. They didn't stop with their rounds though, and kept an eye out for anymore members of the Sons of Garmadon. Harumi might be gone, but that doesn't mean the others won't be there to avenge her...

* * *

Lloyd sighed, looking over the city from atop of the parking garage. He found this place nice for some reason. It was tall, out on the edge of the city so he could see most of it, and it allowed him to get most of his vehicles in. Well, the ones that fit anyway.

He looked around and was scanning all the leftover debris. It wasn't as bad as the Devourer, but...it seemed to hurt more. His father returning as pure evil, his friends almost dying...and Harumi.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. Every time he thought about her...it just hurt more and more. He wasn't sure if it was the heartbreak, or her dying. Probably both. He felt hollow, and vulnerable. He let their enemy get too close, and toyed with his heart. He loved her, but...she didn't return the feeling.

 _"Was it really love though? What about her made me attracted to her?"_ That was something Lloyd was trying to figure out. Every time he wrapped his head around it, he just...unravel, and he was back to square one.

He sighed and sat up, stretching. "Maybe I should have grabbed my car instead of the bike. This thing kills my back..." He took a deep breath and looked over the city. The sun was setting low. He hit a button on the bike and a voice com came up. "Everyone be alert. Sun is going down."

 _"Which means the bad guys are waking up. Me and Zane have downtown."_ Kai's voice rang over the come.

 _"I'm covering Central and Main."_ Cole wasn't far behind.

 _"I'm surrounding the outskirts, and Jay has the sky."_ Nya said.

"Jay?" Lloyd asked. The com kicked on, but it sounded like someone tripped and crashed.

 _"Sorry!"_ Jay's energy filled voice came over. _"Still working on my mini-jet! (Stupid wrench...). I'll keep a lookout in the bounty."_

Lloyd smirked. "That's fine. I'll just do my scouts around the city, check out the South-side."

 _"Be careful out there Lloyd. The Sons of Garmadon still like to roam around there. Call for backup if you see them."_ Cole told him. _"Last thing we need is them going after our leader...again."_

Lloyd nodded. "Right. See you all later. Be safe. Ninja, go."

 _"Aw, come on Lloyd, with feeling this time! Ninja-g-! *crash* (Gah! Stupid toolbox, why are you on the floor?!)"_ Lloyd could hear everyone laugh at Jay. He couldn't help but chuckle himself.

"Be safe everyone." He turned his com off and started his bike up. They were right, he needed to be careful. No time to be a big shot hero and avenge someone.

* * *

Kai and Zane were rolling down the street. Kai was bobbing his head to the song blasting on his radio, when Zane's voice cut in.

 _"Kai, perhaps it is best you do not play your music so loud while patrolling?"_

"Aw, come on Zane! It adds to the mood!" He boasted.

 _"Yes, it does. But not when we are ninja. Our element of surprise helps us in some cases. It doesn't help much when you play cop music though."_

Kai sighed and turned it off. "Fiiiine. I just don't like riding in silence. It gets boring."

 _"Fair enough. Would you like to discuss the recent police reports so we can know what to expect?"_ Zane asked.

Kai rolled his eyes. "Sure, lay it on me bro."

 _"Some break ins have occurred in the past few days, basic robbery of items. A new museum opened, and security is still thin. There have been drag races on main, I will send that to Cole, and-"_ The timing couldn't have been better when their alarm went off.

"That's a break-in! The museum! Let's go!" Kai revved up his bike and they sped off.

* * *

It was a rather large group going through the museum, at least five of them. They moved through, scanning for something. They ignored everything else. They got to the final room and the leader stopped them. Ahead was a scroll in a glass case. It was old. The edges were lined with red and gold, wooden handles on the end to scroll it out. They went over and broke the glass, not caring about the alarm.

"We have it, let's get going. The Alpha is waiting for us." They all turned and were going for the entrance. As they got to the main foyer, Kai and Zane pulled up outside and ran in.

"Stop right there, crimi-! Huh?" They stopped, getting a good look at the thieves.

They were wearing black motorcycle jumpsuits, but on their heads were full headed dragon masks, each one a different color. The leader, with a dark green one, gripped the scroll tight. "All of you ,stop them! I'll get the scroll to the Alpha!" He stepped behind the group and took a sharp left to another exit.

Zane hit a button below his ear. "We need back up at the museum!"

"Zane, go after him! I can hold them off until help gets here! Notify the police too!" Kai's fists lit on fire and he charged the group.

Zane was hesitant, but he turned. Kai was a hot head, but he knew when he bit off more than he could chew...or he would go down choking, it was 50/50 with him. Zane got outside as he heard a motorcycle take off onto the main road. He got on his own bike...

And the window above him broke as a figure landed on the road next to him and...took off on all fours, like an animal, and at an alarming rate as well. Zane was still for a moment, then took off.

* * *

 _"They're heading onto the main highway!"_ Zane exclaimed over the com. Lloyd was already speeding down that way.

"I'm heading there now! Who's closer the museum?" Lloyd asked.

 _"I'm heading there now!"_ Nya yelled over the com. _"I trust Kai to handle it, but he might need help!"_

"Cole, what's your position?" Lloyd asked. The Earth ninja was supposed to be covering the main highway.

 _"Sorry. Got caught helping the police with the drag racers. They heard the call and are sending some your way and to the museum!"_

"Alright." Lloyd was riding when he saw the speeding biker...wearing the dragon mask. _"That's not normal."_ Lloyd thought. He sped after them.

The biker looked behind him and saw Lloyd gaining on him. He sped up and took an off ramp, but it led to a dead end that wasn't fixed yet.

"He's got himself in a corner! I'm catching him!" Lloyd spend up and was ready to his the tether button to grab the perp and the bike before the end, which was coming up quick. _"He's not slowing down...is he gonna jump it!?"_ No sooner that Lloyd had thought that when the perp cut the bike off. It slid, and when it was a half inch away from the edge, he jumped, going for the nearest building. He landed on it and started to scale upwards...on all fours like an animal would.

Lloyd skidded to a stop before the edge and watched. He sneered and hit the com button. "He's going towards Central! Everyone, move to-!" Suddenly something landed on the front of his bike and he looked up...and was locked. Time seemed to stop.

The figure in front of him wore a dark cloak, attached to a black dragon mask, or rather, almost like an jacket. Sleeves that seemed almost like a bodysuit, tight fitting and just at the figure's wrists. The ends were separated into three wide sections, almost looking like a clean tear. The mask was a dragon head, with just the upper section of it, the eyes missing to make holes, white spikes running in a single line down the back. But the eyes belonging to the person...

Sharp. They were a solid silver, seeming to glow, full of spirit, energy...and something...animalistic. Lloyd felt something in his soul move and rumble, like...it was waking up. He couldn't move, felt like his couldn't breathe.

Finally, time moved, but slowly, as the figure looked up above him at the building, then jumped over him. Lloyd watched this graceful arch and they leapt onto the building and scaled it like the perp. Lloyd finally snapped and time rushed on him. They were now both scaling the building.

 _"Lloyd! Lloyd!"_ Nya's voice blared over the com. _"Lloyd, the perps from the museum escaped! We're all heading towards Central, Jay is there with the bounty! What happened?!"_

Lloyd was shaken from his trance and hit the com. "S-Sorry! i'm on my way to the bounty! Two assailants are on top of the Deluxe Finance building!" He revved his bike and sped towards the location of the ship.

* * *

The figure in the black cloak jumped from sill to sill, their eyes on the thief. They had no idea they were there. They got to the top...and the cloaked figure tackled them, onto the roof. The thief growled and swapped, hitting them in the jaw. The other figure growled and swiped back, slapping across the face.

They fought it out like animals on the room, hitting and swiping at the other.

The thief growled. "I didn't think daddy would let his precious little girl out~."

The voice that spoke from the cloak was female. "And I would have thought your Alpha would have known better than to invade on the humans like this!"

"Please, he knows nothing! Some of us have split off, and found a new Alpha!"

This shook the girl. New Alpha. "That is not allowed. Who is it?!" Suddenly, lights flared up on them. It was another ship, built like a small bounty, with the other masked assailants on it. On the other side, the bounty was not too far off.

"You won't find out." The thief pushed her off the roof.

* * *

"There!" Cole called out as they saw the cloaked figure being pushed off. The thief grabbed a grapple gun and aimed it at the smaller ship, clinging on.

"They're getting away!" Jay exclaimed.

The figure was being pulled by the gun, scroll in hand...

when suddenly there was a roar and a large figure shot up in the sky, flying by and grabbing the scroll in its mouth from the thief, almost knocking him out of the air, causing him to swing wildly.

"Holy Mother of Dragons, is that... a dragon?!" Kai yelled.

Lloyd stared in disbelief. They left...there were no more in Ninjago, but there it was. A solid black dragon with white claws, horns, and spines running down its back. Lloyd could barely make out the bright red eyes, but they stood out on the beast. And it was big. It had to be the length of a bus. It curved, flying down, trying to avoid buildings, and almost hit the bounty.

The ninja were frozen. "I-I thought the dragons were gone, where did this one come from?!" Nya asked.

Lloyd was about to give an answer, when it started flying up. As it did, they saw something fall, no, more than one. A storm of scales surrounded it, enveloping it. When it reached above the city to the sky, a figure curved backwards, scroll it hand. Lloyd's body went cold.

The cloaked figure was now in the sky, curved backwards, then falling towards the ground. The scales surrounded them again and the dragon was there, quickly turning up sharp towards the sky.

"Y-Y-Y-You all saw that, right?! Please tell me I'm not crazy?!" Jay freaked out.

"W-What was that?!" Cole asked.

Zane spoke up. "We need to go after it! It has that scroll!"

But by the time they moved, the dragon escaped into the clouds, then seemed to vanish.

"Its gone..." Lloyd said.

"So are the perps." Nya said.

It was now quit, the only sound was the hum of engines, and cars and sirens below.

"...WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE FIRST SPINJITZU MASTER JUST HAPPENED?!" Jay screamed.

"That..." They all turned and saw Master Wu come on deck. "That...can't be possible..." Wu seemed in disbelief.

"What can't be possible, Wu?" Loyd asked. "What was that?"

Wu bowed his head. "That...was a dragon shifter..." He looked at them. "And the possibility of the human race being in danger."


	2. Chapter 2

"Wait wait wait. Dragon shifter?" Jay asked. Wu moved the ninja to their room, to sit and discuss.

"Yes..." Wu tugged on his beard, like this disturbed him.

"Could you explain a bit more?" Kai asked. "You're leaving us in the dark here."

Wu sighed. "I suppose...but...my knowledge is very limited to them." He cleared his throat. "Long ago, there were a race of people known as 'Dragon Shifters'. Not being fully human, they had the power to turn into dragons. At some point in history, they vanished, and everyone thought the race to be extinct." The ninja waited. "...That's it."

"That's it?!" Jay asked. "That's never it, where's the backstory, the dark twist, the usual fate deciding ending?!"

"I warned you." Wu told them. "My knowledge is limited. They were believed to be legend, and others thought maybe they were just stories."

Lloyd rubbed his head. "That doesn't help us in the slightest..." He felt uneasy. Like...something was wrong.

"So, why were they here?" Cole asked.

"The scroll." Zane said. "They had a scroll with them."

"Oh yeah. Zane, do you know what it was?" Nya asked.

He nodded. "Yes." His eyes glowed and a hologram projection of the scroll appeared on the table. "It was a scroll some researches found not too long ago, and put on display, thankfully, after the events that happened with Lord Garmadon. It had only one line in it, but it was in an ancient tongue that couldn't be translated. They out it on display, and some talk was even said about a reward for whoever could translate it."

"Hm...Maybe they were trying to steal it to make money?" Kai offered the idea.

"It doesn't make sense though, the mask, the...shifter and why they were after it." Nya said. "This all happened and we have no clue as to what is going on."

"Nya is right. We were shoved in the dark with no light." Wu stated.

Jay laughed. "Greeeeat. And, um, what was with the danger of the human race thing?"

"Well, with the coming of the dragon shifters, it was also stated it could fate the end of the human race if they decided to come into power." Wu said.

"So they're bad guys?" Lloyd asked. That didn't feel right to say. Like...it wasn't true.

"So what? We've fought dragons before, and heck, a whole stone golem too! We can probably handle this." Cole stated with confidence.

"Maybe. But be on your guard. A being that could alternate between human and dragon could be dangerous." Wu stood up. "It is late. It's best we turn in for the night. Nya, please dock the bounty in a safe place for the evening, thank you." He left.

"Sleep, with a dragon changing human out there? count me out!" Jay huffed.

* * *

LLoyd could hear Jay's snores, amongst everyone else's. He just couldn't sleep. He stared at the ceiling. All he could think about were those eyes...something about them...they didn't give off the feel of evil. But...he's been fooled before.

He sighed and closed his eyes. Wu was right, he needed sleep. No point in trying to stay awake worrying. If the shifters wanted them dead, they would have acted...right?

* * *

Lloyd opened his eyes to find himself in a large dark room, with grey smoke on the floor. It was vast, he couldn't tell if he was seeing walls or not. He looked around, and he was completely alone. "Hello?" His voice didn't even echo. "Is anything there?"

Then he heard it. A soft growl. He slowly turned, and in the dark, he saw two glowing yellow-gold eyes. That was all he saw. They were slanted, with a cat eye pupil in the middle. Lloyd felt scared...but at the same time, it was like looking at an old friend. Slowly, he could make out the outline of a dragon. It growled, then it roared.

"GAH!" Lloyd sat up as the alarm went off. Everyone groaned.

"Lloyd, we don't need a panic alarm too..." Kai mumbled and he fumbled for the alarm.

Nya yawned and stretched. "I slept too heavy..."

"Same..." Cole stated. "I guess my worry kind of transitioned over..."

"I slept great!" Jay stated, earning a few glares from everyone.

Nya got out of bed and looked over at Lloyd. "Huh? Lloyd, are you okay? You look shaken up."

Lloyd swallowed and pushed his head from his eyes. "Y-Yeah, i'm okay. Just...didn't sleep well..." He got up and stretched. Funny, the feeling of fear wasn't there anymore. _"What is wrong with me? What happened?"_

* * *

The ninja were heading to the upper deck.

Kai yawned. "Who's turn is it to make breakfast?"

Nya weakly raised her hand. "Mine. I'm gonna make some eggs and nato." The boys groaned. "Stop it, it's good for you. If you all ate nothing but pancakes and bacon, you'll end up looking like Dareth."

Cole chuckled. "Low blow Nya. But you're right, eating healthy is a good choice for all meals."

Lloyd smirked as they stepped on deck. "Yeah, we can't just-" He froze and the others bumped into him.

"Oof! Lloyd, what's the deal?" Kai asked. Lloyd didn't respond. "Lloyd?" They pushed past him ,and gasped.

Sitting on the deck, asleep, was the figure in the black cloak, the dragon mask still on their face, the scroll in their lap.

Jay clung to Zane. "Its them...quick, strike now!"

Zane help his arm, despite the risk of an electric zap. "Easy Jay, we don't know if they mean any harm."

Jay's loud antic woke them up though. They yawned and looked at them. they quickly got up, scroll in hand.

Lloyd swallowed. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

The figure stood there. Lloyd saw this emotion in their body...nervous. They didn't want to be here, but it was as if they had no choice. They shuffled a bit, then knelt down, rolling the scroll towards them. This caught the ninja off guard. Lloyd went over and picked it up.

"...Why? why come to us?" Lloyd asked.

The figured swallowed, then bowed down low. "Because I need your help..."

The ninja were quiet.

 **"You're a girl?!"** Kai and Jay asked.

* * *

Wu poured some tea and handed it to her. She bowed her head slightly. "Thank you." She took a sip, the mask still on.

Lloyd sat across from her. He felt embarrassed, because he didn't notice it before, but once he heard her spoke, he saw the feminine features. The eyes, her figure, he even noticed her ches- He shook his head slightly. _"Bad, Lloyd! Be serious!"_ He cleared his throat. "So...who are you?"

The figure sat still for a second. "...My name is Ashlynn...I'm a dragon shifter. I came to you last night for help."

"Why?" Nya asked.

Ashlynn nodded to the scroll on the table. "The scroll...its a map of some sorts. But...I don't know the land."

"Wait, you don't?" Cole asked. She still shook her head. "Why us though?"

Ashlynn looked at Kai. "I saw his fire. I knew you weren't normal humans. You were also trying to stop the others."

Jay piped up. "Are they bad guys?"

"They're...lost dragon shifters. Members of the flightless group went rouge." Ashlynn said.

"Flightless?" Lloyd asked.

She nodded. "Dragon shifters where their dragon self have no wings. They're group lives away from the rest, but...to go rogue and invade the humans like this..." She sighed. "They can not have this scroll in their possession."

"But it is safe in ours?" Zane asked.

"You humans wouldn't have been able to figure it out." Ashlynn stated. "It's written in an old dragon tongue."

Lloyd leaned forward. "You said that its a map. A map to what?"

Ashlynn took another sip. "A map to the three dragon cloaks."

This caught everyone off guard. "Cloaks?" Kai asked. "Are they like the oni masks?"

Ashlynn nodded. "In a way, yes. However, unlike the masks, these cloaks can only be used by someone with dragon blood. Even if you humans figured out how to read our tongue, you would not be able to use the cloaks unless you had dragon blood."

Wu nodded. "The oni were unfair creatures, allowing anyone power for a price. dragons were more cautious of the balance."

"So that's why you were worried about them stealing it." Lloyd stated. "but..how did you know to find it?"

Lloyd couldn't see it, but he felt her embarrassment. "I...I followed them..I left my home with no plan, but found the group heading towards your home. I could have stopped them there, but...I had an idea."

"Idea?" Zane asked.

Ashlynn nodded. "I want to bring the cloaks with me, to the safety of my home, to the The High Alpha of all dragons."

"High Alpha? Is that like...a king?" Jay asked.

"In some sense, yes." Ashlynn stated. She put her cup down and grabbed the mask, pulling it back of her head, Black hair spilled out to the side, and Lloyd felt his throat close.

She had pale skin, and solid black hair. Her eyes matched her face better without the mask. "I left my home to find the cloaks, to bring them back. I just...didn't account for there to be so much human interaction..." Her cheeks roseied a little from embarrassment.

"...Why do we need to help?" Lloyd asked.

"Like i said, I don't know the land. I asked for your assistance, because if the rogues get a hold of the cloaks, they might use it to overthrow the balance! You now the land, i know the tongue. We can help each other."

LLoyd sat there, still. "...Sorry, but we can't" Ashlynn just stared. "Last time we helped someone, it got everyone in a lot of trouble. We don't know if you're on our side or not."

Ashlynn started, then sighed. "That is fair...I have no way of proving it..." She reached for the scroll-

Lloyd stopped her. "And you're not getting this back"

"What?!" she exclaimed.

"Um, Lloyd? Maybe not tick off the dragon shifting girl?" Jay mentioned.

"Like i said..." Lloyd stated. "We don't know if you're on our side or not. So you can't have this."

Ashlynn glared at him. "Come on Lloyd, this isn't like you." Kai said.

Lloyd looked at him. "Look, last time we helped someone just because they asked and talked about magic artifacts, we got the city destroyed, my father back as evil, and..." He swallowed. "Someone killed. We can't take that risk again... _I_ can't take the risk again. So we're going to return the scroll and-" He reached for the scroll, but it was gone,

And so was Ashlynn.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello Everyone, happy late holidays!**

* * *

Everyone ran outside. The bounty was docked in a forest _("I figured the cover of the woods would work." Nya told them.)_ , and they saw Ashlynn on a branch, looking over the scroll.

"Hey, give that back!" Lloyd yelled at her.

She turned to glare at them. "No. I told you, i need to find those cloaks. If you want it to bad, you'll have to take it from me!" Lloyd sneered. She turned to look at them. "...Tell you what. Let's bet. If you capture me, I'll give you the scroll."

"And what about you?" Zane asked. "What do you win if we fail?"

"Easy, I get the scroll. I can learn this land faster than you can read the ancient tongue." She told them.

"So a game of tag is it?" Kai chuckled. "This will be too easy!" He jumped on the edge of the bounty for her.

"Kai, wait!" Lloyd tried to stop him, but he jumped for her...

She sidestepped and he fell through the air with a shout, falling to the floor below. She glared at them, and Lloyd could have sworn her iris' turned red. "The game is set." She flipped the mask down. "Catch me before time is up." She tucked the scroll away and crouched on the branch. "Good luck." She took off on all fours.

"After her!" The rest of them jumped into the woods after her.

* * *

"This is ridiculous! this is so stupid, we're gonna die!" Jay screamed.

"Shut up Jay, we need to focus!" Cole yelled back. "Zane, do you see her?"

"Negative." Zane was scanning the whole forest. "I can't find any trace of her!"

"How do we just lose her like that?" Nya asked. "She shouldn't have been able to get that far!"

"I don't know..." Lloyd scanned the area. This didn't feel like a game...This felt like a hunt. "Keep going, we're bound to run into her!"

"You make it sound like a good thing-!" Suddenly a branch swung back and hit Jay, knocking him into Cole, sending them to the forest floor.

"What the...?! Jay, Cole!" Nya hollered.

They looked in the direction of the branch and Ashlynn was crouched behind the tree. She smirked, then ducked back behind it. Lloyd quickly jumped over, but when he looked, she was just gone.

"She can't just vanish like that!" Lloyd yelled. He was getting unnecessarily angry, even for him.

"We'll find her Lloyd, she couldn't have gotten too far." Nya reassured him. "Lets keep going."

"...Right..." Lloyd sighed. Something wasn't right with him. He shouldn't be getting this mad. Its like...once he knew it was a hunt, this...instinct rose up. It made him uneasy.

They jumped through the woods a bit more. "Anything Zane?" Lloyd asked. The nindroid shook his head.

"Okay, think...She's acting like an animal, right?" Nya mentioned. "She wouldn't be in front of us, right? She would have to be off to the side or behind us. Somewhere where she can see us."

"It's a good theory. Let's stop and-" Zane took a step and a vine snapped around his ankle, pulling him up.

"Zane!" Nya stepped forward to help and the same thing happened.

"Nya!" Lloyd growled. He heard a giggle and turn.

Ashlynn was crouched on a branch. "You ninja sure make a lot of noise, and are fairly easy to capture. One player left Lloyd. I might go easy on you now."

Lloyd growled and jumped after her. She dropped to the branch below and surged forward. Lloyd took off after her.

She was toying with him now. Because he was it, she made sure he saw her. He chased after her, getting angrier and angrier. Every time he thought about calming down, the anger filled the spot. Its like all he cared about was the hunt.

Ashlynn looked back at him. "You're getting closer, green ninja. But without our cooperation, only one of us will win this hunt."

Something in Lloyd snapped, and it felt like he was pushed back to watch everything, like through a screen. A heavy voice filled his head.

 _ **"And that one will be us!"**_

* * *

Ashlynn kept bounding forward. Lloyd was good, better than a normal human. He could keep up better. Granted, she was cheating before, but she did ease up this time. She wanted to see what he could do. She looked behind her and saw him behind her.

"You're getting closer, green ninja. But without our cooperation, only one of us will win this hunt." She turned back forward and kept going. She didn't want to do this, but it would be the only way to get them to cooperate.

 _"Maybe i'll hide and come back again?_ _ **No, a sign of weakness.**_ _Oh come on, we don't have time to be petty! We need their help!_ _ **As you said, you can learn this land, they cannot learn the tongue.**_ _Technically that was you, not me. I still want their help-"_

Ashlynn was suddenly tackled. "What the-?!" They both fell to the forest floor, tumbling down a hill. When they finally stopped, Lloyd pinned her to the ground, his hand on her throat. She looked at him ,then gasped. "You...I was right..."

Lloyd's eyes were glowing yellow-gold, a black cat eye pupil in the middle. He was growling, his teeth sharpened slightly. "You do have a dragon..." Ashlynn whispered.

Lloyd's eyes widened and he stumbled back, letting go of her. He covered her face and took deep breaths. the 'screen effect' wore off and it felt like he was back in control. He took a few more minutes to breath, then looked at her, all shaky. "Wh-what...just happened?"

Ashlynn laid there, then slowly sat up. "Your dragon...I-I knew you had dragon blood in you, but...I didn't know...you had a full dragon inside..."

What? Dragon? Lloyd was about to ask her when they heard footsteps and voices.

"Lloyd!" The others rushed up. "Are you okay, man?" Kai asked.

"Y-Yeah..." Lloyd rubbed his head. "I'm okay...just...fell..."

"Here" Ashlynn tossed the scroll and Jay caught it. "You caught me, and you won." She walked past them...towards the bounty.

"Wait, where are you going?" Nya asked.

"To the bounty..." Ashlynn looked back at them, but this time, her expression was softer, and mild, with...no ounce of threat. "You need help reading it, and I need help finding them."

Cole stepped forward. "you expect us to listen to you now?!"

She turned to them, still not appearing mad. "No, i don't. But now, you'll have questions, and I'm the only one who can answer them. Isn't that right, Lloyd?"

Lloyd didn't move...then nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone was in the bridge of the bounty. The map was on a table, open. Jay whistled. "That language is...wow."

"I told you" Ashlynn stated. "Its old dragon tongue."

"Okay, so what's it say?" Lloyd asked. Ashlynn went over and looked at it.

"Underneath the ground it sleeps, its stone prison it's is to keep. The roar of Earth will be its tomb, the closed off underground room." She looked at them. "That's it."

"That...was not helpful." Kai stated.

She nodded. "I agree. Do any of you know what they might mean?"

"The roar of Earth..." Cole stated. "Hm...I might have something." He went to the computer and typed into it. A hologram appeared, showing a cave that looked like a mouth.

"The Roaring Tunnels? I didn't think about that." Lloyd said. "You think it could hold it?"

Cole shrugged. "I don't see why not. It's a good place to hide something. With the twisting of tunnels, so many people have gotten lost. Even if they leave a trail, they still can't find their way...through..." Cole faltered as he looked at Ashlynn.

She kept sticking her hand in the hologram, then pulling it out, biting her lit to keep from smiling. She seemed to be fascinated by it.

"Um..anyway, it's a good place to start." Cole continued.

Nya hit a few buttons on the screen. "It'll take us about a day to get there. That will give us some time to prepare and rest." Nya turned the hologram off.

"Incredible..." Ashlynn stated. She hadn't heard a word.

Lloyd tried to keep from smiling. "Ashlynn ,we found out where we're going."

"Really?" She smiled, then stopped when they were all smiling at her. "U-Um...what did i do?"

"Have...you never seen a hologram before?" Jay asked.

She shook her head. "Never. Your world is so...advanced compared to mine. Everything has just...amazed me. I would like to see more."

Jay smiled. "You wanna see more? Follow me!" He went outside on deck, Ashlynn following.

Kai smirked, leaning against the dashboard. "She doesn't seem that bad."

Lloyd nodded...then stopped suddenly. "We...still need to be careful. We know what happened last time we helped someone. We need to be cautious and make sure that she is what she says."

"Dude, she turned into a dragon, and HASN'T attacked us in the middle of the night. I think we'll be okay." Kai stated.

Lloyd crossed his arms. He was trying to be careful, be cautious. But...he had this relaxed feeling...like he shouldn't be worried. Like he already trusted her. "We should still be a little careful."

"This is amazing!" They heard Ashlynn's voice outside on deck. They looked and saw Jay and Ashlynn with the training course up.

"Come on ,let's make sure neither of them get hurt." Kai said.

* * *

Ashlynn sighed and smiled. "That was amazing, I've never had food like that." They all just finished dinner.

Zane smiled. "I am glad you enjoyed it. I tried to make it good for our guest."

Lloyd pushed his bowl away. "hey Ashlynn, can we ask some more questions?"

She nodded. "Sure, what would you like to know?"

Kai rubbed his chin. "What about...How did there get to be people like you? Dragon shifters I mean?"

Ashlynn smiled. "I can answer that. I can tell you the story all dragon shifters know." She cleared her throat. "Back when the land started-."

"Wait wait wait, that's how your story starts?" Jay asked. "What about 'Long before time had a name.'?"

"Jay, please be respectful." Wu stated. "Please continue Ashlynn."

Ashlynn nodded. "Back when the land started, The First Spinjitzu Master had created the land, but he was struggling to keep the land safe because of the Oni. He went to our Mother Dragon to ask for help."

"Mother Dragon?" Lloyd asked.

"You must mean First Born." Wu said.

She nodded. "She is our mother dragon to us. Anyway, he asked our mother dragon for help. She could not help him herself, but she sent five dragons to this land, and had them take most of their pack with them. When the battle was over and the land split, the dragons grew to love the land, but they could not survive in their dragon form. So they made a grave sacrifice. They traded their portal magic, for the magic to turn into humans, and...sacrificed the ability to go back to the Mother. The decided to live in harmony amongst humans. But, over time, humans became scared that we would overthrow them. Their fear overtook them, and wanted to get rid of the Dragon Shifters. So they hid themselves away around the land, to appease the humans and run as their own. And that's how its been for generations." She took a sip of her tea.

"That's it?" Nya asked. Ashlynn nodded. "So...there are some shifters that have,...never met a human?" She nodded again.

"How have you all hid yourselves for so long?" Zane asked.

"Magic. All the packs have a veil that covers them from humanity. Whenever they do come across, the veil turns them around. Only ones with dragon blood can pass through." She explained.

Lloyd leaned on the table. "...You said there were cloaks, like the Oni masks. What do they do?"

She nodded. "There are three cloaks. The cloak of strength, the cloak of knowledge, and the cloak of concealment. They were pieces of skin from some of the first few dragons, or so the legends say."

Lloyd looked her over. Something about what she was wearing..."Ashlynn..." She looked at him. "Are you wearing a cloak?"

She sat still, then looked down at her cup. "...Yes..."

That got everyone's attention. "You're wearing a cloak?! How'd you get your hands on it?!" Jay asked.

"...Apparently, the first dragons kept one...The cloak of concealment..." She looked at her sleeve. "They thought the ability to hide oneself would be worse than knowledge or strength..."

"So that's how you've been able to hide so easily." Cole said.

She nodded, then yawned. "I believe it is time for bed." Wu said. "Let us turn in for the evening."

 **"Yes Sensei."**

After getting dishes done, everyone went to the ninja's sleeping quarters. Lloyd handed Ashlynn a blanket. "Um...give me a minute to find you a place to sleep." He picked his pillow off his bed. _"Should I give up my bed? I don't want to let her sleep on the floor..."_ He thought.

"This works fine." Lloyd looked behind him, about to question what she meant...when she was gone. He looked around. "Up here." He looked up and Ashlynn made a hammock with the blanket.

"How did you do that?" Kai asked.

"I just made a hammock is all, its fine. Not the most comfortable way to sleep, but it's better than nothing." She stretched.

"Do..you want to take the cloak off?" Jay asked.

She sat still, then turned on her side. "I should be fine. I'll at least take it off and use it as a blanket. Well...goodnight." She was then quiet.

Lloyd sighed and put his pillow back town, taking the top coat of his gi off. _"I want to trust her...but she's making it hard..."_ he thought.

 ** _"She is cautious. This is a world she does not know, with people she has never met. Give her time to trust you, and she will do the same."_** His dragon said.

And then there's this. This...dragon. He needed to find out quick how to handle this...


	5. Chapter 5

_Gong Gong Gong!_

"Time to wake up." Wu said. "We have much to do today." He hit the gong again and left.

The ninja groaned and got up. Lloyd yawned and looked up at Ashlynn, still asleep in her hammock. "Ashlynn, up..."

"Nooo...not a morning dragon..." She mumbled and shuffled in her hammock.

"Well, that's one thing we have in common..." Cole stated and yawned.

Lloyd smirked. He took a broom and poked the hammock. "Come on, we need you up, especially if we're gonna find this cloak."

She grumbled and sat up, blinking. Lloyd tried not to laugh. Her hair was a frazzled mess, and she was still half asleep. The alert person they met yesterday was now this...tired mess. She sighed and jumped, almost fell out of the hammock. She still wore the cloak, but it looked like she regret doing it. She rubbed her eyes. "I don't like mornings..."

"We don't either, but we have things to do." Kai said. "We need to look for a cloak."

She nodded and straightened up, stretching and popping her back. She grimace. "Maybe I should have taken this off..." She Mumbled to herself. Lloyd wasn't sure if she meant to say that out loud or not.

"...Ashlynn, I know this is a lot...but if you want us to trust you, you need to trust us." Lloyd said. "We can't go off this one sided trust."

She stared at the floor. "You're right...I'm sorry...I'm just...worried and paranoid, is all..."

Nya shrugged and grabbed a hairbrush. "It's alright, that's understandable too. But Lloyd is right. Its okay, you can trust us, and we can trust you. As long as you don't stab us in the back."

Ashlynn smiled. "Thank you. You're right, I need to do my part, and input trust in you all."

Lloyd smirked. "Thank you. Don't worry, we aren't going to turn on you." Ashlynn nodded.

* * *

The ship pulled up to the outskirts of the cave. "This should be it, hopefully." The ninja and Ashlynn got out.

There was something uneasy about the cave. It was like an actual mouth.

Jay fidgeted. "This is nerve wracking...do we have to?"

Ashlynn knelt by the ground. "Yes, someone has been here recently..." She was right, there were footprints leading into the cave.

"hm...we shouldn't be concerned, but if someone went in, we should look in case its someone innocent and they're lost." Lloyd said. The others nodded.

Ashlynn sniffed the air. "...No. This is bad. Flightless. They're here."

"What?! How?!" Kai asked. "We have the map!"

"They must have read it somehow before we retrieved it." Zane stated.

Ashlynn stood up. "Come on. If it is the same group, then they might have a chance to find it." They all nodded and went into the cave.

Lloyd looked closely at Ashlynn. She had the skills of a hunter. she was paying attention to the footprints, the walls, and stopping to sniff every now and then. Lloyd took a deep breath through his nose. He smelled the dirt around, a musty smell...and something else. It..it smelled like the reptile house in a zoo, but it had the smell of something a bit more...wild, almost like snake and swamp.

 **"Your sense of smell is increased. But you lack the ability she has...she is most incredible. Her and her dragon."** Lloyd's dragon sounded...smitten.

 _"She is. If i'm stuck with you, I guess I need to ask her how to handle you."_ Lloyd thought.

They went a bit farther down the tunnels. Cole looked around. "Hey...guys, something isn't right..."

"Yeah, no joke. Look where we are!" Jay stated.

"No...He's right..." Ashlynn stopped and looked at the prints. Lloyd looked and felt his stomach turn to stone.

The human like prints turned into a dragon footprint. Kai gulped. "I'm guessing that's not the footprint of someone lost..."

"No...They're here..." Ashlynn put the hood on her head and crouched. "Stay close and stay quiet. We're lucky if they didn't find us yet..."

"...Hey Ashlynn...how did you know where to go?" Nya asked.

"Smell and the path. The tracks are fresh, as well as the smell. I was able to track which direction they went. With luck, they're lost as well..." Ashlynn told her. They all went down the path, following the prints.

Lloyd could hear something. Voices...and he could feel the ground quake a little. Ashlynn looked at them and held a finger to her mouth. They nodded and flipped their hoods on. They creeped up to the opening of the next cave and looked out. "Not good..." Zane whispered.

They were there, the same shifters from the museum. But...now they had a dragon with them. Ashlynn wasn't wrong. They looked like any dragon, but...no wings. Lloyd wondered if they could fly like the other wingless dragons.

Ashlynn looked over the cave. _"They shouldn't have found this place...I thought we got the scroll before they read it..."_ **"They must have seen it before they lost it..."** _"Smart on their part, I guess..."_ **"Ashlynn, look..."** Ashlynn looked up and saw them. _"The leader..."_

They stood over on a shelf, looking down. It was a woman, Ashlynn could tell from the body, but didn't know who. It was their mask that got her attention. It was dark blue, and over the right eye was a scar...that lined up perfectly with their own scared eye. Ashlynn wondered if they had it done like that, or it was an attack. She redirected her attention back to the flightless.

One had shifted to a dragon, digging, the others as well. _"An Earth flightless...not good...that must be how they found this place..."_

Lloyd nudged her a little. "What's the plan?" He whispered.

Before she could reply, there was an exclamation. "Found it, found it, found it!" The one with a pink mask was jumping excitedly. The leader with the blue mask looked at them, their body unchanging position or emotion. It jumped down into a hold and came back up with a chest. They opened it and it was this copper brown cloak.

"That's it..." Ashlynn stated.

"What's the plan?" Cole asked.

"We need to distract them, then I'll go in and grab it..." Ashlynn told them. "Who is good at distractions?"

Everyone looked over and Kai and Jay. "Seriously?" Kai asked. "Fine, fine. We'll distract them. Come on Jay." They jumped over the edge.

"Hey everyone!" Jay shouted! They all stopped. "How's everyone doing today-?"

"Get them!" The one in the green mask pointed. The dragon growled and ran at them.

"Watch out!" Cole jumped in front and landed on the head. It roared and shook its head. The others joined them as Ashlynn snuck off to the side.

She crept along the edge as the one in the blue mask watched. _"No reaction...was she waiting for us?"_ She crept onto the ledge above her. _"I need to get down there to it, or someone has to bring it up...I wonder-"_ The flightless dragon roared again and the cave shook. Cracks and fissures opened up. The ledge Ashlynn was standing on crumbled and she yelped as she fell to the bigger one below. The leader turned to her. Ashlynn crouched and growled. "Who are you?"

Nothing. They glared at her and kept quiet. They turned and jumped off the edge to the floor below and another roar shook the cave. Ashlynn ran to the edge and saw her grab the cloak and take off for the exit. "Guys, she's getting away!" Ashlynn screamed.

Lloyd looked over and saw the leader leaving. "Hey!" Lloyd took a step, but one of the other shifters blocked him. Lloyd growled. "Cole!" Cole jumped off the dragon and it ran into the wall, shaking the cavern and causing boulders to fall and crash. Cole picked one up and threw it. It landed in front of the leader, stopping her, sending her back, the cloak flying out of her hand. She went for it, but Zane slid by on a slide of ice and snagged it.

"Alright Zane!" Jay cheered, then yelped as rocks fell.

Lloyd looked around. "We need to get out! It's collapsing!"

"Retreat!" The flightless all grabbed the dragon and it ran out. Ashlynn growled and started after them...

"Ashlynn!" She stopped and looked. The cave was collapsing and the ninja were trying not to get crushed. She looked back at the tunnel the flightless we're running down. _"I can get them..."_ **"But the ninja won't make it out..."** Ashlynn swallowed the lump in her throat, then growled and started to shift.

Lloyd took a jump back as a boulder fell in front of him. "We're trapped!" Nya screamed. Lloyd looked around. They could get out, but the boulders were falling too fast. They would be caved in...

There was a crumbled and they looked up as a huge sheet of rock started to fall. They all screamed and covered themselves...

They heard the rock hit something, but it wasn't them. They looked up...

And Ashlynn was in her dragon form, covering them from the debris. She growled and twitched her head towards the exit. They all nodded and started moving, Ashlynn Trying her best to cover them. More rocks fell and hit her. She just grunted and growled, trying to move.

Lloyd felt this sinking in his stomach. Here she was protecting them...He felt awful, for two reasons. One for not trusting her in the first place (he had at least a solid reason for that) but two...she was getting hurt. He felt his dragon rumble, then struggle. Almost, like trying to get out.

They got to the tunnel and started making a run for it. They got halfway, when a rock fell and struck Ashlynn behind her head. She made a squalled roar and nearly collapsed on the ninja. She breathed heavily, then shakily got up and they continued their way out. They got out of the tunnel into the open air, and not seconds after the tunnel closed.

Jay panted and gasped. "One adventure...where we don't almost die?!"

Cole painted. "Wouldn't be...an...adventure...Zane. you got it...right?"

Zane nodded and held the cloak. This one seemed a bit bulkier, and the copper color was a bit dusty looked. But no doubt about it, they could feel the power off it.

"wow..." Nya marveled. Lloyd agreed, it still looked incredible.

"Ashlynn, are you-?" Lloyd turned right as Ashlynn collapsed. "Ashlynn!" He ran over. She was bleeding, behind her head, and various cuts along her body. She moaned and her eyes were dropping shut. "Ashlynn, you need to shift, we have to help you." She grunted and tried to get up, but fell again, moaning. Lloyd swallowed the lump in his throat. "Nya, wash this out. Guys, we need to grab sheets or something to stop the bleeding."

"W-Wait, we;re gonna operate on a dragon?" Jay asked.

"She doesn't have the energy to shift...we need to move, she's hurt." Lloyd told them. They all nodded and moved.

* * *

Kai lit the logs on fire as everyone settled in their makeshift camp. Ashlynn was asleep, still in dragon form, a bunch of sheets tied around her to make impronto-bandages. Lloyd looked at her.

"She risked her life for us..." Cole said.

Lloyd nodded. "I feel bad, for not trusting her sooner..."

Kai shook his head. "Not your fault for being cautious. But still...that's badass that she did that." Nya nodded.

"All kneel before the mighty lighting dragon!" Everyone looked at Jay.

"Jay, take that off!" Nya scolded him. He was wearing the cloak.

"Aw, come on, I'm not doing anything!" He stated. "This thing is heavy though...feels like one of those heavy jackets at the dentist when they do the x-ray."

Lloyd got up. "Come Jay. It won't work anyway." Jay grumbled and took it off, handing it to Lloyd. Lloyd felt something. He felt like surge of energy from it, just holding it.

Kai smirked. "You gonna try it on? Only someone with dragon blood can feel the power."

Lloyd looked at it. It might work...He could wear this, but...He sighed and shook his head. "No...I don't need to." He went over and tucked it under Ashlynn. She sighed and shifted her position a little to get comfortable. He smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

Ashlynn grumbled and shifted her position. Everything was sore, and she felt heavy. _"what happened?"_ _**"We were hurt. We protected the ninja and got the cloak."**_ _"yay...where are we?"_ _ **"I couldn't shift back because we were so injured. The ninja cared for us and stayed close. We're outside the caves."**_

Ashlynn struggled to open her eyes. She was still a dragon, and outside. She yawned and slowly got up. She still hurt, but it didn't look like she was bleeding. She looked around.

The others were asleep on the ground, a dead fire in the middle. _**"They stayed with us."**_ " _Yes, they did..."_ She sighed and started to shift back. The blankets and sheets fell off, but she was able to get a look at her injuries. They were more so cuts and scrapes than gashes, which was her biggest worry, but something that would heal without fault. Her clothes though...

"I need something clean..." " _ **You'll have to wake them up. We need to get going."**_ Ashlynn went over and shook LLoyd. "Lloyd, wake up. We need to get moving." Lloyd groaned and sat up, blinking. Ashlynn smiled. "Morning."

"Hey..." He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore, but I feel rather okay. But we need to get going."

"Right..." He got up and stretched. "Guys, we need to get up." They are still asleep. Lloyd sighed. "Guys-"

 _HOOOOOOONK!_

The horn on the bounty went off. They all shot up, startled. "G-Gah!" Jay looked around scared. "Wha..."

 _"Good Morning Ninja. Up and at 'em. It's time to move."_ Wu started over the intercom. They all groaned and got up, stretching. Ashlynn picked up the cloak.

"Strength..." Ashlynn rubbed it. She could feel the power wavering through it.

"We left it alone." Lloyd told her. "We made sure to keep it in our sights."

Ashlynn nodded. "Thank you. We'll stash this in the bounty for safety." They all went up to the bounty.

* * *

They all looked at the scroll. Jay fidgeted. "Nothing is there. Shouldn't something be there?"

Ashlynn crossed her arms. "There should be..." She rubbed her shoulder. "Maybe we're missing something?"

"hm..." Lloyd looked at it. "Maybe...it needs the cloak? Like, it's got some sort of magic connected to it?"

Ashlynn's face lit up. "Yeah, maybe. Give me a minute." She went out to where they stashed the cloak.

Nya smiled. "She's getting more comfortable around us. It's been, what? Two, three days?"

Lloyd nodded. "Just about." He sighed. "Sorry for how I was acting..."

Kai pat his shoulder. "Dude, its alright. Given with how things have been recently, we don't blame you. Just be sure to apologize to Ashlynn."

Lloyd nodded. "I will." Ashlynn came back.

"Okay, lets try this..." Ashlynn placed the cloak next to the scroll. Nothing was happening.

"..maybe not?" Cole asked.

"I'm not sure...this is old magic...And old magic is tricky..." She signed. "Maybe we-"

"Look!" Jay excalmied. The recent text wavered and it was replaced with more text. "What's it say?"

Ashlynn read it. "...Wait...what?"

"What is it?" Zane asked.

"It..." She swallowed. "Generation to Generation. Eye to eye. A pact must be made, trust must rise. Hidden by a home, by neither friend nor foe. Only a dragon heart may be the one to know..."

Everyone was quiet.

"A pact?" Nya asked. "A pact to what?"

"I..I don't know..." Ashlynn growled a little, then sighed. "But, at least this time we will not be raced by the enemy. There is no way for them to find it before us..."

"Well ,that's good." Jay stated.

Ashlynn sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Maybe we're all too tired, to think about it..."

"You okay?" Lloyd asked. "You look...a little ragged."

"Yeah, I'm fine..." She sighed. "I need a bath..."

"Well, you can. I can lend you some clothes if you need it." Nya told her.

Ashlynn beamed and smiled. "Oh, thank you so much! You have no idea how happy that makes me."

Lloyd was standing on deck, looking over the sky. He took a deep breath. _**"The sky is beautiful. What I wouldn't give to fly through..."**_ _"That sounds...kinda good actually. I wish we could..."_ _ **"Talk to Ashlynn. She has dragon blood in her, she must be able to help us."**_ _"Hm..."_

"Ah, this breeze feels great..." Ashlynn walked up to him, the cloak half draped over her shoulder, wearing a pair of Nya's jeans and one of her shirts. "I might go for a fly and stretch my wings, it's been a few."

"Right...hey, Ashlynn, can i ask a question?" Lloyd asked.

"Sure, whats is it?"

"Um...is there...a possibility you can...teach me about-?"

"Your dragon?" She smiled. "Of course, I was wondering when you were gonna ask me. What do you want to know?"

"Well...god, where do I start? Are they..supposed to talk to you?"

She started laughing. Lloyd blushed. She giggled. "Sorry. Yes. Lloyd, the dragon isn't fully just you, he's a part of you. You're both different beings, but you share the same life."

"Is that why you and your dragon have the same injuries?"

She nodded. "We have a special magic that makes us turn between shapes, but it keeps us tied together. Injuries, and feelings, thoughts. I ask her for advice at some occasions, and vice versa. We work together because our lives depend on us cooperating. Same with you and your dragon. He's a part of you, and you are a part of him."

"Huh" Lloyd felt a little better, that...he wasn't alone. "So, the shifting...can anyone do it?"

"Well, almost. Your dragon has to wake up first. When a dragon shifter is born, it's the human part of you. You need to build up the magic that connects the bond between you. It takes a few years, most of them start when they're about five or six. But once you reach a certain age, it becomes..risky." She stated.

"Risky?"

"Yes. Our bodies need the magic to survive. Much like hoe you need certain chemicals in your body to live, we need that magic to survive. The shifters that don't awaken their dragon by a certain age are referred as Sleepers."

"Sleepers...How was I okay?"

"You aren't pure dragon. You have a bit more human in you than any other dragon shifter, plus the Oni side. Your body doesn't need the magic like mine does. Without that magic, our life span shortens...very few Sleepers survive into their adult years..." She leaned against the railing. They stood there in silence for a bit.

"...Ashlynn.."

"Yeah?"

"...Can you teach me to shift?"

She looked at Lloyd, a little surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. I want to know what you feel when you turn. Put myself in your shoes."

"Hm..." she crossed her arms and looked at the sky. "Have you tried before?"

"Well, the closest i've done is summon an elemental dragon...does that count?"

She shook her head. "No. That's a collection of your element. You need to pull your dragon out and merge together. It...sounds easier to say it than to do it."

"I'm willing to give it a shot if you'll help me." Lloyd asked. _**"You really want to see what it's like, don't you?"**_ _"It's not just that...It feels like..I need to know this part of myself...What I am...or at least part of me. And that part is you."_ _ **"Aw, how sweet. Very well, let us try. I would like to you to see how I am."**_

"Well, alright. No time better than now to try."

* * *

Wu and the ninja were looking at a map on screen with the scroll and the translation.

"Hm..." Kai rubbed his chin. "...I have nothing."

"Perhaps a forest or plantation? Generation of plants?" Zane mentioned.

"Yeah, but this dragon bit? Doesn't seem like a thing." Cole stated.

"Snapdragons!" Jay yelled.

"No, sweetie, not that." Nya patted his shoulder. "Ashlynn seemed stumped more by the words. This doesn't sound like a solid location. It sounds more like...a riddle to lead us to the clue of the location?"

"Not a bad assumption." Cole said. "But we have nothing here, so no clue..."

Kai sighed. "Maybe we should get Lloyd and Ashlynn's opinion? They're the dragon people."

"Perhaps you're right. Let's console them." Wu stated. "They should be on deck." The ninja went out on deck to see Ashlynn looking over the edge.

"Hey Ashlynn!" Jay shouted. "Where's Lloyd?"

"Trying to shift." She stated, not moving.

"Huh?" Before she could answer them, Lloyd on his elemental dragon flew up.

He landed on deck and groaned. "That's the fourth time..."

"Easy LLoyd, I told you it would take a few tries." Ashlynn told him. She signed. Lloyd has been trying attempt after attempt, but she's worried he's not doing it right. _**"He's new to this. Most children that can build the bond, it takes them a few tries. I remember how it was with you."**_ _"And i'm trying to forget that notion..."_

LLoyd went back to the edge and hoisted himself on the ledge. "Merge with my dragon..pull him out..." He took a breath and fell forward.

 **"Lloyd!"** The ninja ran over to the edge to see him free fall.

"Come on Lloyd, you can do it..." Ashlynn mumbled. LLoyd was falling, then a green energy formed under him and caught him, but it was his elemental dragon. He yelled in frustration and flew back onto the deck. She sighed. "Lloyd, its okay, not everyone gets it at first. It's fine."

He growled. "I'm trying...I'm pulling the dragon ,feeling him, but...he won't budge..." He went to the opposite side and leaned on the edge. Ashlynn sighed.

"Whats going on?" Kai asked.

"He's trying to shift, to pull his dragon forward. But...he's having trouble...He should be able to do it. He can make a dragon, and he talks to him, but...he can't pull him out..."

"Is he too human?" Jay asked.

Nya nudged him. "Jay, don't be rude."

Ashlynn wondered that too. _"That can't be a factor...right?"_ _ **"He's human, dragon, and Oni. There's no telling how his body works. There has never been someone like him before..."**_ Ashlynn looked at him. He was trying, he wanted to help. She took a deep breath. "Nya, hold this for me." Ashlynn took the cloak off her and handed it to Nya.

"Wait, what are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm going to show Lloyd something. Something that might help him understand." She started towards Lloyd, then picked up her pace to a run. She grabbed Lloyd's arm and they fell over the edge into the sky.

 **"Lloyd, Ashlynn!"** The ninja ran over and looked over. They saw Ashlynn in dragon for, fly off into the clouds with Lloyd on her back.

* * *

LLoyd looked around. The clouds were thickening into fog, and every now and then he could see rock spires. "Ashlynn, what are you doing? If you're thinking the environment is the reason I can't do it, that's not it..."

She kept quiet and kept flying. Lloyd sighed. _**"Fret not Lloyd, I am not upset. We have only known each other for a few days, forming a bond like this will have its challenges."**_ _"Maybe you're right...maybe I'm just trying to rush this...Sorry..."_ _ **"I am not angry with you Lloyd, so you need not apologize."**_ That brought Lloyd some comfort. _"But then...that means this anger is all mine..."_

Ashlynn flew to a flat spie and landed. she knelt down a little and Lloyd got off. He looked around, but all he saw was fog. "Ashlynn, what are you doing? I can't do it. But it's fine, I know it can't happen like that...I'm going back to the bounty-" He turned, but Ashlynn stood in front of him and knelt her head down in front of him. "A-Ashlynn, stop, I'm going back, there's no point-" He moved to the side, but she stopped him, her eyes not leaving his. "Ashlynn, seriously, enough." She moved her head closer. He put his hand on her snout to stop her. "Ashlynn, stop-!" He froze and looked at her.

The eyes...They were still the solid red dragon eyes, but...something else was there. Its like...he was looking at two people at once. They were Ashlynn's eyes, but also...her dragon's.

"...That's what you meant...I understand..." LLoyd closed his eyes, and took a breath. _"I understand...I've been just trying to pull you out...I haven't been trying to be with you..."_ _ **"I as well. I tried to force myself out, or let you pull. We need to work on unlocking our ability."**_ _"Yes...I agree..."_

* * *

The ninja looked over the skies. "Do you see them?" Kai asked.

"The fog is too think, I can't see anything." Cole stated. He looked back up at the control room. "Nya, anything?"

"They're not picking up on my scanners, but the radar says we should be out of the fog soon!" She yelled. "Hopefully we can see them soon!"

"Hopefully. I know we're not super pressed for time, but it would be nice to make progress..." Cole muttered.

"Keep your patience." Wu told them. "We must have faith in what she is teaching Lloyd-"

A roar suddenly cut through the air. They all stopped. "W-W-What was that?" Jay stammered.

"Maybe Ashlynn?" No sooner had KAi suggested that, another roar cut through, a little deeper than the first.

"Then what was that?" Jay asked again, this time more nervous.

"Not sure..." Cole stated, looking around. "Nya?"

"We're leaving the fog...and something popped up on the scanner!" She shouted.

Light filtered through as they exited the fog. Two more roars. "Everyone, keep an eye-" Cole was cut off by two large figures flying upwards in the air. Everyone froze as they watched them. It was dragons, two of them. One was Ashlynn, the other...

"Is that...Lloyd?!" Lloyd was a solid green color, with dark green membrane wings. His horn and claws were solid white. A gold coloring speckled the underside of his throat, stomach, and legs, like a paint splatter. He had spines going from the top of his head to the tip of his tail, going from the same gold on his stomach, to a dark black. A gold frill was at the end of his tail, taking the form of a leaf almost. He eyes and the long whiskers on the end of his snout were also gold.

"He...He did it!" Kai shouted. "He looks awesome!" They all cheered as they flew past the ship.

Lloyd couldn't believe this feeling. He had flown with a dragon before, but flying as a dragon...It was a whole different experience. He looked at Ashlynn and looked back, the corner of her mouth flicking up for a second, before going back to neutral. _"I guess ragon mouths are super equipped to smile. This is still awesome!"_

Lloyd flew in a small circle and landed on a rock spire. Changing back was almost as easy as changing to a dragon, it was the same feeling of being two people sharing one body. His body surrounded itself in scales, and before he knew it, he was back to human. He looked himself over. He didn't look different as a human, but felt...different. Felt...secure. He liked it.

He felt a presence and turned just to seen Ashlynn land, shift, and come at him as a human. "You did it!" She leapt to him and hugged him. To avoid falling over, he grabbed her and they spun a little, both laughing. Ashlynn hugged him tight, and he returned suit. They were like that for two seconds when they got embarrassed and let eachother go. Ashlynn had a slight blush on her face and coughed. "Y-You did it. You became one with your dragon!"

"Hey, its thanks to your help. I..I couldn't have done it without your help." He told her. She smiled, and Lloyd...felt his heart and stomach flutter.

"Hey you two!" They turned to see the others on the bounty, Jay waving at them. "If you're done being best buds, how about taking another look at the scroll?" They nodded.

* * *

The sun was setting, but they still had enough daylight to move in. It was the fog that was giving them trouble, it was thick and heavy. Nya was at the wheel trying to guide them through it while they looked over the scroll.

"Generation to Generation. Eye to eye...Okay, I think this means that its something passed down. Normally generation stuff means family, or a line." Lloyd stated.

"That's what I was thinking. Eye to eye means agreeing on something. I think that's where this 'pact' comes in. But...I can't think of how though..." Ashlynn said. "Trust...Home..." She stood up and crossed her arms. "Maybe..."

"What is it?" Zane asked.

"It's a long shot...but I think-" The bounty jerked and rumbled, then skidded to a stop, the alarms going off a little.

"Gah! Sorry! we were actually closer to the ground than I thought!" Nay shouted. "Crud, I hope I didn't break something..."

"Let's go take a look." They all went on the deck. The fog was still really heavy, and the air was wet. "I think we're in a swamp." Jay said.

"Smells like it." Kai sneezed. "LEt's make sure that we didn't break anything, and-"

 **"Wait"** Both Lloyd and Ashlynn stopped them.

"You heard it too?" Ashlynn asked him.

"Yeah...something is here..." He said. They all remained quiet.

Jay looked around. "I-I don't-"

Suddenly a bunch of figured jumped on the deck and pointed spears at them. "Do not move! You are trespassing on the territory! Who gave you the right?!"

Ashlynn stiffened. "Oh no..."

LLoyd swallowed. The fog made is hard to make out who it was. "We mean no harm. I am Lloyd, I-"

"You are a rogue dragon!" They pointed it closer at him. "What territory do you belong to? Answer!"

 _"Territory? Rouge? Where are we?"_ He thought. Before he could answer, Ashlynn said something.

"Of course..." She took a step. "I need to speak to your alpha!"

"And why would we do that?" They asked.

"...Because we're looking for the cloak." They caused them to react, Lloyd wasn't sure if it was a good or bad reaction. One of them stepped forward. He looked human, but his eyes held something wild. He was wearing some sort of tribal wear, his spear in hand. Lloyd saw something on his left arm...a tattoo? It was a black dragon, wrapped around his arm, but it had no wings.

He looked at Ashlynn. "It is you...I didn't know..." He looked over the group. "You're with humans, and..." He glared at Lloyd. "Whatever _he_ is..."

"He is my companion. They are helping me find the cloaks. And...I believe your leader knows where it is. Please, we will not fight. I just want to talk..."

He didn't move, then sighed. "If anything happens to our territory, you will be sorry. Follow us." They shuffled behind the ninja and pointed them forward with their spears.

Lloyd swallowed. "Ashlynn, who are they? And where are we going?"

Ashlynn stared ahead. "...They are flightless. And we are going to speak with their Alpha."


	7. Chapter 7

Lloyd glances at the shifters walking behind them. They had their spears down, pointing them at the ninja, making sure they moved forward. He turned back to Ashlynn. "Is this a good or bad thing?"

"We'll find out." Ashlynn kept a stern look and voice, but Lloyd could hear the nervousness in her voice. _"She's nervous...about what?"_ **"I do not know...perhaps she has a rivalry with these...flightless?"** _"That would explain the group...this feels different though. I mean, these guys look like they're from a different era...We need to get to the bottom of this..."_

Luckily that didn't take long, because the one leading them stopped. "We're here." He turned to them. "I ask one thing. Do not tell anyone of this place. I am speaking to you, humans." He said it with venom in his voice. "If word of this place gets out, we will kill you to silence you." He turned and separated a vine curtain, that kinda looked like it wasn't there before. They stepped through and Lloyd looked out.

It was built like the Village Styx, but smelled WAY better. The houses were lower, but they stayed elevated above the marsh. It was foggy and humid, but he could see the lights and people moving around. No, shifters. Other flightless. They looked like they were doing well for themselves. The leader led them through, on a straight path through the huts. Other stopped and stared, muttering and whispering. In the crowds of adults, a bunch of kids were looking at them. They're faces are lit up with excitement and wonder.

"I'm guessing you don't get a lot of humans around here, do you?" Lloyd asked.

"No ,we do not." He glared back at Lloyd. "Some of them have never seen a human, so please. Leave them alone." He turned back and they walked.

Jay gulped and waved. A few kids waved back, but were quickly stopped by adults. "Geez, they act like we're here to hurt them..."

"They're worried. New people in their homes surrounded by guards..." Cole stated. "I don't blame them..."

They walked across the platform that led to this big hut in the back. Two guards stood in front. Lloyd looked it over. It was built like the smaller ones, but obviously bigger. A royal house maybe? **"Do you feel it? The power of this place? This is the home of an Alpha. Be on your behavior..."** _"Why are you telling me this? I know..."_ They went inside and Lloyd felt it.

It was a power, but...comforting. Kind of like a heavy blanket. Heavy, but secure. Lloyd looked around. For a place of power, it was homey. It was warm and smelled like...sage? Lloyd wasn't sure. He looked and found the source of power.

Sitting on a throne of stone and rods, was a man, or dragon shifter. He wore a leather cloak that was old and raggedy, ending with claws as tassels on the end. He had a leather tunic and pants, but no shoes. His eyes looked old, but his face only looked about a year or two older than Lloyd. His skin and hair were a dark brown, but his eyes lit up to a dark green.

"He's a living element of the bog..." Lloyd thought. Ashlynn walked forward and knelt.

"Alpha Duni...It is my honor to be in your presence..." He stood up, then Lloyd saw it. Because of his skin, it was hard to make out, but he saw the same wingless dragon on his arm. It didn't look any different, but there was no doubt he was the leader. Lloyd followed suit and kneeled down. The ninja took a hint and knelt down.

"...You bring humans to my territory?" His voice was deep and gravely, but strong.

"Forgive me. It was a coincidence that we ran into your group..." Ashlynn looked up at him. "I mean no harm by trespassing."

The Alpha looked at Lloyd. "What is he? I can sense his blood. Human, dragon..." His eyes glowed, and it was strange. The eyes turned to this deep orange, much different from the green a second ago. "Oni." The other shifters stiffened and growled. Lloyd gulped.

Ashlynn stood up. "Duni, he is no harm." The flightless pointed their spears at her.

"Lower them, now." They all lowered them with no hesitation. Lloyd was baffled.

 **"The power of the Alpha. Able to command his subjects at will."** _"Then I guess we be on his good side, cause he can make the whole...territory attack us..."_ Lloyd swallowed, but stayed down. "Your...Alpha. Please, my friends and I mean you no harm. You see, we are looking for-"

"The Cloaks I assume. I can tell." Duni's eyes dimmed down back to green and looked at Ashlynn. "The cloak of concealment..."

Ashlynn blushed, then took a deep breath. "There is an...issue, that I am sure you are aware of. There are a group of rouge flightless, trying to steal the cloaks. I...I'm trying to gather them and protect them..."

That got their attention. The guards all looked at each other with worry and concern. The leader of the guards looked at Duni. "Father...is this...true?"

He sighed. "Yes, Devilli...It is. I was hoping my gut was wrong, and that i was just being paranoid. But...it seemed my fear has be confirmed."

"Alpha Duni, if I may ask...why let them go?" Ashlynn asked. _"something isn't right...Normally an Alpha doesn't just release their members..."_ " **I think this is something else-"**

"I didn't..." Ashlynn could see it. Duni looked defeated, and...sad. "I felt them one day, cut away from the pack. It was outside the territory, so my worst fear was that...they died. But it did not feel like death...it felt as if...they were taken..." He sat back down in his throne, rubbing his face. "I was worried...but with no way to find them...I gave up..."

"You gave up on finding your own people?" Kai asked. "That's kind of selfish." No sooner had he said that, three spears pointed at him.

"I'd watch your mouth, human!" Devilli yelled. "You're in no position to judge my father's actions!"

"Easy, son." Duni sighed. "It's not like I wanted them gone. I had to think about the safety of my people. If something had taken them away...I did not want to send anyone else out to be stolen as well..." He looked at them and LLoyd saw the tiredness in his eyes. "I do wish to save them though, if they are under someone else's control..."

Ashlynn nodded. "I agree. Had we known, I'd have done something sooner...I am sorry..."

Duni nodded. "...Ashlynn, if I may speak with you and...the mixture, alone."

 _"Why did that feel like an insult?"_ **"I'd take it. You are one of a kind, he probably has no other word for you...that is not offensive."** _"Mm, fair enough."_ 'Will you make sure my friends are safe?" Lloyd asked.

Duni nodded. "They will be safe, as long as they do not try anything to disrupt our peace."

"We promise, sir. We will be on our best behavior." Cole told him. Duni nodded, and they all stood up. They were guided out. Lloyd got up.

Duni straightened in his throne. "I have information to share with you. I feel as if...you're right, Ashlynn. About protecting the cloaks."

"I...am?" Ashlynn sounded unsure of herself.

He nodded. "I am going to tell you the location of the the cloak of knowledge."

* * *

Zane looked around the small cottage they were in. "Incredible. This looks to be early Ninjago era architect..."

"With the absence of humans, I think they kinda had to...stray from modern civilization." Nya stated.

Kai crossed his arms. "I don't like this...I don't like being shoved away like this."

"It felt less like...being pushed away, more like...information we can't know." Nya said. "Ashlynn, and now Lloyd, are shifters. He might be more comfortable talking to them."

"You are correct." Devilli and his group came back with bowls of water and plates with these...brown lumps on them. A bowl and plate was settled in front of each ninja.

Jay poked the lump. "Um...what is it?"

"A mud slug. High in protein, very filling. A delicacy here." He took one and slurped it down. Jay gagged and lightly pushed it away.

"I'm not one to be picky." Cole picked one up and slurped it down. "Hm...he's right. Could use some garlic though...oh well." He ate another one.

Nya swallowed hard and picked up her bowl. "This must be...an experience to you all."

He nodded. "This is indeed. Humans don't often travel here in these parts. When we saw you and the beast you came in on, we didn't know what to do."

"Oh, that wasn't a beast." Jay said. "It was our ship! the Destiny's Bounty!" They all looked at him confused. "Um...You, do know what a ship is, right?"

"We've...only ever seen the ones on water. Never one fly." Devilli stated, bewildered.

"yep, that's us. Ninja and their flying ship." Kai stated, smiling.

"Nin..ja?" Devilli tilted his head.

"Yeah. We're warriors of stealth~" Jay said. "We hide in the shadows, and strike our enemies when they least expect it."

"...I guess we are not enemies, since you made a very loud appearance earlier." Devilli stated. Nya snickered and Cole chuckled.

"Yeah. We do apologize for startling you." Cole said. "It wasn't our plan, really."

"The ground was closer than we thought..." Nya said.

"No one was hurt, so...I can let this be." Devilli crossed his arms. "You humans...you're...interesting. Not what I expected."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "How did you expect us?"

"Eh...Stories depicted you as brainless beasts, slaying anything in your way." Devilli looked at the ninja, who were frozen. "What?"

"That's not humans at all! who told you that?!" Nya asked.

Cole pointed a thumb at Jay. "Does that look like a mindless beast?"

"Exactly-Hey! Don't use me as an example!" Jay yelled.

"My apologies...as I said, they were only stories." Devili explained.

Zane rubbed his chin. "Ashlynn did state that you all hid because of humans, but...it was more so fear than power."

"Well, we promise! Not...all humans are terrible." Jay told him.

Devilli smiled. "Hopefully I get to see it with my own eyes one day..."

* * *

"You know the location of the cloak?" Ashlynn asked.

Duni nodded. "It was entrusted to us when they first hid them. The whereabouts have been passed down from leader to leader.

"! that's it..." Lloyd muttered. "Generation to Generation. Eye to eye. A pact must be made, trust must rise. Hidden by a home, by neither friend nor foe. Only a dragon heart may be the one to know. Ashlynn...it's talking about the flightless."

"You're right..." Ashlynn looked at Duni. "Alpha Duni...we thank you for this, but...why?"

He crossed his arms. "I believe you are right to bring the cloaks together...With the flightless helping, perhaps this will form a pact as you said." He sighed. "I am tired of my people scrounging like this...I want to have allies with the other territories and Alphas...perhaps this will open their eyes."

 _"Wait...other territories...are...the shifters at war with themselves?"_ **"It does not seem that way, more like...a seperation."** _"Hm...Wonder if Ashlynn knows anything about it."_ Lloyd though.

"Duni..." Ashlynn knelt and Lloyd followed suit. "Thank you. You are right, this should stop the feuding."

He nodded. "Thank you. I will have Devilli escort you there. The two of you should be able to get inside the temple."

"Wait..you're not coming with us?" Lloyd asked.

Duni shook his head. "My place is here, protecting our people. If you are right, that rogue group could be coming here to get the information, or worse, hurt us. I need to be able to fight them off. Devilli is my son, and already knows the location, being next of kin. He is just as valuable, and I do not want him hurt."

Ashlynn nodded. "I understand. Thank you." Ashlynn Stood up. "Come on, let's go get Devilli." Lloyd nodded and left. Ashlynn turned to leave.

"...I hope you know what you are doing, Ashlynn. Let us hope you can change his mind..." Duni said.

Ashlynn sighed. "Its not his mind I'm trying to change...It's his past, and the minds around him..." she left.

Duni sighed. "I hope...but I fear we know the same person that will not let this pass..."


	8. Chapter 8

Devilli led Ashlynn and Lloyd through the jungle. "It's up ahead."

"Thank you." Ashlynn and Lloyd decided it was best to go alone, so the ninja stayed behind. She looked at Lloyd as he climbed over a root. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You?" She nodded and they kept going. _"I should ask her about the unsteadiness between territories...and what that means."_ **"Dragons are very protective of their homes. IT's possible territories have the same sense as kingdoms for you humans."** _"I didn't think of that. That must be it."_ Lloyd jumped over another branch, and sunk in the mud a little. "Gah...you sure we can't be dragons?"

Ashlynn went over and pulled him out. "We can't risk other dragons finding us. I have the cloak on, and you're blood is thinned out by the Oni and human. Having Devilli here is a risk along. Being dragon would increase our chances of being found."

"ahem. Your guide, the one leading you to where you need to go, is right here." Devilli stated.

Ashlynn blushed. "Sorry Devilli...I didn't mean it like that..." they kept walking.

Lloyd looked around. The march was really heavy. _"The flightless live here? This doesn't seem like the right place. Farming is almost impossible, and i can't imagine hunting here."_ **"True...however, for them to be able to survive this long, they must have adapted."** _"Maybe..."_

They cleared some bushes and stopped. "There it is" Devilli said. Lloyd looked at it. It was merged well with the landscape, vines and plants covering it, the tree's growing around it.

"Thank you Devilli." Ashlynn said.

He nodded. "...Please be honest. They...were flightless?"

Ashlynn nodded. "I know it must hurt...But i know the whole pack is not involved. Something is happening. They said they found a new Alpha."

"That should not be possible. For that to happen, the bond would have to break, and my father doesn't break bonds. Not with his people." Devilli looked at Ashlynn. "I hope you are right...and I hope you find out the truth." He left.

Ashlynn and Lloyd made their way to the temple. On the door were two dragons, their heads winding down to where the doorknobs would be, razor sharp fangs in their mouths. "What's that stone?" Lloyd asked. The fangs stood out from the rest of the temple.

"Not a stone. Teeth from the first dragons. It's a lock, to make sure only those with dragon blood can get in. Looks like they require at least two people." Ashlynn touched the tip of the fang and hissed a little, her finger bleeding.

"Are you okay?!" Lloyd asked. She nodded.

"It needs our blood. It'll sense the magic within. Go on, it's like a needle prick." LLoyd looked at it, then took his glove off. He held his finger to the tip. It did poke, surprising easy.

"Huh. I thought-" An electric like feeling shivered through his body. The reaction caused him to gasp and jerk back. "Ow! I thought you said it was a pin prick!"

"I...I did. It must be the mixture of your blood. It's having an affect on the dragon magic." Ashlynn took his hand and looked it over. "It looks okay otherwise." Lloyd swallowed.

 _"Wait, why am I suddenly nervous?"_ **"Well, you've never had a touching moment like this. Usually, one of you is fighting something."** " _you...make a god point, but be quiet."_ "W-We should get going..." Lloyd stuttered out.

Ashlynn nodded and they looked at the doors. The teeth glowed, then the eyes. The legs on the doors uncovered the slit, then the doors opened. Dust and dirt kicked up and they both coughed. Lloyd peered inside. "I can't see..."

"Me either...try tapping into your dragon for his sight. Don't fully shift, but just borrow his eyes." Ashlynn closed her eyes, then opened them. They were bright red with a dark cat eye slit. Like her dragon.

Lloyd closed his eyes. _"Hey, um...Can I use your eyes for a bit?"_ **"Very well. As long as I get to see too."** _"I...guess I can allow that."_ Lloyd felt something push forward, like someone sharing a seat, but in his head, and opened his eyes. He could see in the dark much better now.

"Lets go." Lloyd realized his voice was a bit deeper and rougher than before. "Guess this is what it means when he wants to share." They both walked in.

Lloyd looked around. Despite the dark, he could see the colors really well. The first stone carving on the wall showed a portal in the sky, and five...no, not just five. Many dragons, but it depicted five big ones. White, Blue, Red, Brown, and a big black one in the middle.

"The story of the first dragons." Ashlynn said. Her voice was a deep deeper, but more of a mature deep. "It shows the four elements that came to assist your leader, The First Spinjitzu Master."

"Four? But there's five." Lloyd stated. Something told him the black dragon was really important.

"The fifth dragon, the one in the middle, didn't have an element. He did however, have a very important power. The Roar." She walked up to the mural. "The Roar was a special power for those with the highest level of dominance. It had the power to direct the other shifters to his command. He would roar and they would gather, and follow his command."

"So, he was in charge of the dragons fight?" Lloyd asked.

She nodded. "The First Alpha." They walked a bit more. The murals showed the dragons fighting the Stone Warriors, the land splitting. They got to one mural.

It was a depiction of a dragon, but showed swirls of magic to a person. "Dragon Shifting..." Lloyd pondered.

"Yes. Our ancestors gave up the magic to travel between realms, and used it instead to turn into a human like appearance. That ability passed onto future generations, like me...and in some sense, you." Ashlynn looked up at the mural.

"You...know a lot about this." Lloyd stated. He looked at the first mural. "You know...You look a lot like the First Alpha. Are you a descendant?"

Ashlynn was quiet. "Let's get the cloak..." She got quiet and they walked.

 _"Touchy subject?"_ **"She is hiding something. We must know what."** _"Okay okay, but I gotta be careful."_ "Hey um, Ashlynn...What's your family like?"

"...You want to know?" She asked.

"Y-Yeah, I mean...We met a couple days ago, might as well get to know you-"

"Lloyd, if you're trying to pry, you're doing a bad job at it." She stated. Lloyd felt a blush, but it got her to smile and giggle a little. "Sorry...I know you just want to know. I'm literally leading you in the dark. It's just...family is touchy for me..."

 _"! she...must have lost them..."_ "...Alright. I'm sorry." He looked back at the mural. "...You mentioned packs and bonds. Can I know about that?"

She smiled and nodded. "The shifters form a pack. Each pack as this tier of power. The Alpha, second, third, then usually it would even out, or have a fourth then even out. It's usually formulated by dominance, but it can also divide by family. Its happened to packs before in the past. The bonds are a magic link that connects the shifters together. The Alpha can command his people better that way, and if something happens to the Alpha, like death, the bond immediately goes to the second, or if someone fights them, and wins, the bonds shift and change. The Alpha can also change the order of the command, or remove them entirely, but that rarely happens."

"Sounds like the Alpha's have a lot on their plate." Lloyd stated.

Ashlynn nodded. "They are trusted in keeping order with their pack. They keep everyone safe and happy." They kept walking.

"...Okay, stupid question...who's the Alpha amongst my group?"

Ashlynn started giggling and laughing. Lloyd smiled, seeing her laugh like that made him and his dragon...happy. "I figured you would ask. Well, so far you and...Cole? The one with black hair?" Lloyd nodded. "You two are close in terms of leading, but...Cole is a little more dominant than you." Lloyd must have looked a little defeated, cause Ashlynn giggled again. "Sorry. Lets see...oh, Nya is actually behind you. She's not your level, but very close. Then Kai, and the robot...Zane, right?" He nodded. "Jay, actually is the very bottom."

Lloyd chuckled. "Don't tell him that, his ego doesn't need to be crushed."

"Actually, Jay is just as important as you and Cole." She said.

That caught Lloyd off guard. "But...you said-"

"I did, but let me explain a little better. It's not just Alpha and others. There is another class, very minuscule, but they're called Peacers. They more so give off an aura of peace and happiness. You trust them, and they made things easier to handle."

"Huh. That...does sound like Jay, almost. He's had his moments where it doesn't work though."

"Its few and far between, and it's not all the time. More so in stressful times." They got down the hall.

"..Thank You for explaining it to me. I'm glad I got to know this."

Ashlynn smiled. "I'm glad you asked. I like to spread the knowledge of our people." They go to a big chamber and a chest was in the middle. "There it is." They went over and looked at it. Ashlynn reached for it-

"Wait! I saw this in a movie!" Lloyd looked around. "We need something just as heavy to even the weight. If not, then the temple caves in."

"Lloyd-"

He saw a rock and picked it up. "oof! this should be heavy enough. Now to quickly swap them-"

 _*Creeeeak...click*_ "Lloyd, I just took the cloak out and left the chest, the cloak isn't heavy."

"...Oh." **"Hehehehe. I like her."** _"Shut up, my plan was a good idea!"_ Lloyd put the rock down and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked at the cloak. "The cloak of knowledge?"

"Yes." It was a beautiful. It was white, but had this rainbow sheen to it, almost prismatic. "It said to cast the wearer with knowledge. But unlike the others, this one has a withdrawal affect. The user feels empty without knowledge at their whim."

"Ah. That's why its locked away like this. Well, let's take it back."

Ashlynn nodded and they left.


	9. Chapter 9

Ashlynn and Lloyd found their way back to the flightless camp. Devilli and the ninja were waiting.

"You got it!" Jay exclaimed.

"Yeah, a little...too easy if you ask me." Lloyd said. _"I'm not crazy, right? That was too easy?"_ " **I do not believe the dragons were the type to make heavy traps to keep out intruders. It had the blood lock, but that does make it vulnerable to any shifter that finds it."** _"They must have really depended on the environment hiding it to not set up traps."_

"May I speak with your father, Devilli?" Ashlynn asked.

"Of course. Rest for now, ninja." Devilli led Ashlynn to the main hut.

"So what happened?" Kai asked.

"I got to learn about the history of the dragon shifters. And that was pretty much it..." Lloyd stated.

"Really?" Jay asked. "No traps? That's weird."

"That's what i said!" Lloyd stated. "But it was...a little weird. It sounded like Ashlynn Was trying to...avoid something. Like she was excited to share, but..hesitant to do so..."

"Hm...maybe she was nervous about possible traps?" Zane asked.

 **"Or...she didn't want to be there in the first place."** _"Huh? Why do you think?"_ **"Remember, she said she was going to get the cloak, then leave...Perhaps she's grown to you all too much."** _"I...didn't think of that..."_ Lloyd thought.

"Well...hey, we have the cloaks! why don't we celebrate?" Jay asked.

"Hey, yeah! We risked our neck for...one of them." Cole said. "And i'm sure Ashlynn wouldn't mind."

"Wouldn't mind what?" Ashlynn asked and she came back.

"A celebration!" Nya said excitedly. "We all ,especially you, worked hard to get the cloaks. Why not celebrate a little?"

Ashlynn pondered. _"A celebration? hm..."_ **"I'd take it. It's not like a party will be thrown for us when we get back."** _"Fair enough...but-"_ " **I know...let us enjoy the moment then..."** Ashlynn smiled a little. "Sure. I could do that."

"Yay, that means Zane cooks!" Jay excitedly exclaimed. They all laughed.

* * *

Lloyd was leaning on the railing of the bounty, looking over the bog. _"Knowing what's out there, I can feel the stares..."_ **"I am a little surprised they let you just leave."** _"We made a promise to not expose them. I think they felt like they can trust us."_ The bounty started and they left.

Lloyd went up to the brig. "So where are we going?"

"Ashlynn just said to kinda...fly." Nya said. "She said she could find her home from any place she was."

"Hm. Know where she is?" Lloyd asked.

"Said she was getting the cloaks ready when she...left..." Nya kinda faltered.

Lloyd smiled. "You got used to her."

"You realize how annoying it gets here being the only girl here?" She asked.

Lloyd laughed. "That's what happens when you want to be with the guys." She rolled her eyes and waved him off. He chuckled and went down to the rooms. He could hear the others in the kitchen as they got food prepped. He went to the room and held onto the handle. That's when he felt his gut...flutter and sink at the same time.

 _"huh? What's...happening?"_ **"You're realizing this is happening. When you open the door, you'll see her packing...to leave. And it upsets you."** _"yeah, but...why? I knew she would leave as soon as she found the cloaks...So why does it upset me?"_ **"I'm not sure. Perhaps because she is an ally? OR perhaps..."** His dragon went quiet. _"Perhaps what?"_ Nothing. Lloyd sighed and opened the door. "Ashlynn?"

Ashlynn was there, a bag over her shoulder. She had taken the cloak off, and was her clothes. She had one the black pants, but had a black sleeveless cheongsam top on. It...suit her really well.

 _"Wait, what? Why am i having this thought?"_ Lloyd blinked a bit. "Sorry, didn't mean to intrude."

"No, its okay. Its your room." Ashlynn adjusted her back and smiled. "I was just getting ready."

"You're not wearing the cloak?" It was odd she took it off.

"I decided it would be best if I bought it instead of coming in wearing it...And as long as I'm in the sky, i'll hopefully be okay." She explained.

That concerned Lloyd, but if it was her choice, then he could respect it. "Well, I just came to see if you were ready. Food should be done. We'll let you refuel before you leave."

She smiled and nodded, and followed him out. Lloyd looked at her. He never noticed the smaller details about her. Her hair never looked this dark and elegant, like ink on paper. He didn't notice she had no blemishes or beauty marks. She had a small scratch on her chin, but that seemed to fit her. His gaze fell to her arm. She had the same type of mark as the flightless, but hers had a grey wing open over the body. He never noticed before, but he also had never seen her arm bare like this before. And her eyes...He didn't remember them being so bright and shiny, like silver.

He shook his head. _"What the hell is up with me? I'm not this attentive..."_ **"I knew it..."** _"Huh? Now you're chiming in? And you knew what?"_ Before his dragon could answer, the intercom came on.

 _"Food is ready!"_ Jays voice rang out.

Lloyd looked at Ashlynn. "hungry?"

"Very."

* * *

Everyone was laughing and making jokes at the table. "You should have seen him at the beginning!" Kai nudged Cole. "He nearly wet himself at the first sight of a dragon!" They all laughed.

"Oh yeah?" Cole asked. "What about you, Mr. 'Scared of a puddle'?" Kai's face dropped and they all laughed.

Ashlynn giggled. Lloyd smiled. He really liked the way she giggled and laughed. Delicate, but full and emotional. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.

Ashlynn sighed. "Thank you all. I am glad I was able to stay with you all. And thank you so much for your help. I wish..." Her face fell to a frown. "I wish i could repay you properly..."

"How about a picture?" Jay asked. "What better way to remember a friend?"

"A picture? do we...have that kind of time?" She asked.

"You kidding, of course! I'll get the camera!" Jay got up from the table and left.

Lloyd played with his fork. "Ashlynn...how are you going to get home?"

"Well...My main home, where the Alpha is, I can feel it. More like how birds can migrate, I can find my way home." She explained.

"So...another dragon blood thing?" Kai asked a little deadpan-ish.

She smiled and blushed a little. "Yes...I am sorry, but i have no control..."

"Ah, don't sweat it. Kai is just jealous he can't be part dragon." Nya stated.

"Well, duh! Dragons are cool!" He stated, and got everyone to laugh.

Jay came back in with the camera. "Found it! Let's get together." Everyone sort of smashed on the same side of the table while Jay set up the timer.

"That...small box is going to capture us?" Ashlynn asked.

Lloyd smiled. "Yeah, see that big circle in the middle? Look at that and just smile naturally, okay?" She nodded.

"Okay...hold still!" Jay got over the table and got next to Nya. "Say grease!"

 **"Grease!"** The camera shuttered and took the picture with a flash. Ashlynn blinked and rubbed her eyes. Lloyd chuckled as Jay went over to look at it.

"Nice!" He showed it. Everyone was in, and Lloyd couldn't help but smile. Ashlynn had this sort of uncertain smile, but she was still smiling.

"Incredible..." She pondered. Lloyd smiled at her curiosity.

* * *

Ashlynn was standing on the desk, gripping the rail. _"...I don't want to leave."_ **"We cannot stay, you know this..."** _"St-Still, there must be some way for us to stay! We can just...leave the cloaks with the flightless, or-"_ **"And your promise?"** Ashlynn swallowed, trying to keep her tears back. _"I know...I just...I don't want to go..."_

"There you are." Ashlynn turned and Lloyd was coming with a small piece of paper. "Jay printed the picture and I wanted to give you a copy." He handed it to her. Ashlynn looked at it. He rubbed the back of his head. "Hey Ashlynn...I was thinking...You're not in any rush, right? Maybe you could stay for another day or two, so that you can learn more about our world, and maybe-" He heard a choked sound and looked at her. Tears were streaming down her face. "A-Ashlynn! I-I'm sorry, did I say something?"

"I...I can't..." She slightly crumpled the picture and pressed it against her forehead. "I shouldn't have come here..." She choked and a small wet gasp let out. "I want to stay...but I can't..and now I'm hurting myself by leaving..." She gave a sob. "I'm sorry..."

"A-Ashlynn...I'm not angry, I-I...I'm not upset." That was a lie though. He was upset that she was leaving, but why? She needed to go, it was obvious, she said she was leaving...

So why were they both not ready for it?

She swallowed her sobs. "I'm sorry Lloyd..." she handed the picture back. "I'm sorry for hurting you..." she looked her him ,trying to see through her tears. "I don't want to go though...but I can't stay..I want to though..." She smiled. "You and your friends showed me so much, and you allowed me to teach you all you wanted to know. I was so happy to teach you our history, and of yourself. I..." She sobbed and wiped her eyes. "I want to stay..." She whispered.

"Then...Then stay!" Lloyd grabbed her hand. "I-I can't explain what's going on, or why I'm upset you're leaving, but I want you to stay! Don't leave, stay here!" " _What is going on? I don't want her to leave, why does she have to leave?"_ **"Lloyd...we're in love..."** _"...I know..."_ "Please, Ashlynn...I-"

Ashlynn shook her head. "I'm sorry Lloyd...I have to go..." She wiped her eyes. "Thank you..." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "For everything..." she left go and took a step back, falling off the edge.

"A-Ashlynn!" Lloyd ran to the edge, to see her flying away in her dragon form, the bag in her claws. It didn't take long for her form to disappear in the clouds.

He was frozen, the wind whipping at him, unable to move. He kept a death grip on the picture. _"Dammit..DAMMIT! Why does this happen?!"_ **"I understand being angry. But she had a responsibility-"** _"Why couldn't she have taken me then?! Why?!"_ Lloyd swallowed a lump in his throat, and tried to keep from crying. " _Why am I so heart broken?"_ **"...When a dragon falls in love, they cannot help but hold onto that love...we both are going to be in pain...but..."** _"But?"_ **"...She will to. You didn't feel it...but she loved us too..."**

* * *

Everyone was in the bridge, Jay puffed some air out. "Sooo...back to Ninjago City?"

"I guess...there isn't much else we can do..." Nya stated and started to turn the wheel. It got quiet again.

"...Well, hey, look at the bright side!" Kai stated. "Lloyd can turn into a super cool dragon!"

Lloyd gripped the picture in his hand. "Temper Lloyd, he means well..." "Yeah...a dragon..." He swallowed hard.

The ninja all looked at each other. "Lloyd?" Nya asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah...I'm fine..." He sighed. "I'm tired...I'm gonna get some rest..." He turned and left.

He stormed down the hall. **"Lloyd..."** _"I don't want to hear it..."_ He walked into the room and looked around. He looked up and saw she left her hammock. He sighed. _"Everywhere I look...I should take it down..."_ He climbed up his bed, then onto the rafters. It took a minute, but he got it untied and he jumped to the floor. He looked at it and remembered when she first set it up. He held it close and breathed it in. _"Her scent..."_ **"We need to clean it. It's not good for you to be heartbroken this whole time..."** _"You're right...I'll go wash this..."_ He turned to leave..."Gah!" He tripped over a loose board. "Ow, my toe..." He sighed and looked at it. "I don't remember that board being loose before..." He went over to the board and moved it a little. "Wait..." He pulled it off, then gasped.

Inside, were the three cloaks.


	10. Chapter 10

Lloyd was frozen. He almost couldn't believe what was in front of him. The cloaks were nestled into the floor boards. _"Please...Please tell me i'm seeing this right..."_ **_"You are...she left them with us."_** _"But...why?"_

"Lloyd?" The other ninja were on the opposite side of the door. "Look, man. I know it's upsetting..." The door opened. "Why don't we talk and-?"

"Hold on." Nya interrupted. "Are those...?"

"The cloaks?" Cole finished.

"They are...She left them behind." Lloyd stated. He picked up the cloak of concealment. Why though?

"Hey, what's that?" Jay asked and pointed to something peeking from the sleeve.

Lloyd grabbed it and opened it.

 _A dragon follows his heart home. -Ashlynn._  
 _Also...I'm sorry._

Lloyd felt his throat close. _"She...she wanted us to bring them...but, why? Why couldn't we go together?" **"She must have had a reason..."**_

"Lloyd?" Kai asked. "What do we do?" The ninja all looked at him.

Lloyd looked back at the cloaks. _"What do we do?"_ Silent. Lloyd felt a thousand thoughts flying through his mind. He swallowed. "Let's wait...I...I need some time to process this..."

* * *

Lloyd sat cross legged on the floor, staring at them and the note. He sighed. _"A dragon must follow his heart home...I'm guessing that means to the Main Alpha's home." **"...You do not wish to go, do you?"**_ _"...No. Not without Ashlynn. She...She was so upset..."_ He could remember her face. She didn't want to go, but she knew she couldn't stay. She was at a heavy cross road...

 _"She still doesn't know this land, she's wandering alone out there...She's exposed without the cloak..."_ He opened his eyes and looked at them. _"do we need to wear them to have the affects?"_ He picked up the cloak of concealment. He held it close. He could still smell her scent on it. He could almost imagine hugging her, and her heart beating against his. "Follow your heart home..." He put it down, then got up. _"I know what we have to do."_ **_"I know. And I agree with you."_**

* * *

Lloyd went into the bridge. They all looked at him. Nya hit a couple switches. "Just tell me where we're going. She said the home was hidden so-"

"We're going after Ashlynn." Lloyd stopped her. They stopped everyone.

"Um..what?" Jay asked.

"We're going after Ashlynn, and bring her with us." Lloyd stated. "She needs to finish this journey with us."

"But, we don't know where she went, how will we find her?" Cole asked.

Lloyd looked out over the sky and closed his eyes. _"Help me out, please."_ Lloyd felt a slight brush of a breeze and opened his eyes. He was in the wall less dark room again. He saw a gold chain emitting from his chest and reached out to his dragon. He never got a good look at it before, but he agreed it fit him.

 _ **"Do you have a plan?"**_ He was still speaking in his mind.

Lloyd nodded. "I need to be a dragon. I have to search like she does. And i need your abilities."

 ** _"You could have asked me in your head."_**

"I could have, but..." Lloyd faltered. "I thought maybe I could have found something else here..."

 _ **"I understand. Lloyd, we do not have a bond connecting us with Ashlynn. Trying to find her will be a feat."**_

"I know, but we're gonna try. No matter how long it take." He said.

His dragon smiled and huffed. _ **"You are more dragon than you let on. The persistence of love drives you to large feats. I will help. Let us merge and use our abilities."**_

Lloyd nodded. He closed his eyes again, took a deep breath, and opened them again. He was back on the ship. But he felt changed. Colors seemed brighter and he could see more details if he focused on one spot. He could also smell better. And that was the first part of his plan.

* * *

He held the cloak in his hands as he sat on the mast heads. He held it close and smelled. The smell hadn't faded, which was good. He took a smell in the air. He was looking for a path, and he found a very thin one a while ago. They had been following it. _"I wish i could know how long ago this was..."_

 _ **"Dating smells is an advanced skill. We would have to have been doing it for years to date them."**_ Lloyd nodded in understanding. He smelled...

 _"Wait...it got stronger."_ He opened his eyes. "We're getting closer to her." He stood up.

"Lloyd, something came on the radar!" Nya shouted. "It's rather big, it might be her!"

Lloyd felt anxious, nervous, like a boy picking up his first date. "Do you think she'll be mad?" "Possibly, but once you explain, she might understand." "I hope." The smell was getting stronger now.

"Lloyd-" Nya started.

"We're getting close, be ready-!" Lloyd said, but Nya cut him off.

"Lloyd, the readings...its a ship. And i think it's the flightless ship." Nya said.

LLoyd felt like a lead weight was in his stomach. They couldn't run into them.

"Alright...turn around, and-" He was cut off by two sounds. A roll of thunder and the ship alarms going off. The cloud came out of nowhere, and he turned to see their ship flying. But something was wrong. The flightless group were looking at them. They knew.

Lloyd jumped onto the deck, an iron grip on the cloak. He looked over the ship. The goons were on the edge. The leader was on this stand, with...another figure. They were bound and a bag over their head, but...the clothes...he knew those clothes.

"Ashlynn!" He called out. "Let her go!"

The leader pulled the bag off and Ashlynn blinked. "L-Lloyd?" Ashlynn's stomach dropped and fluttered at the same time. **_"We knew he would come after us...you felt it too..."_** _"The love stucken idiot...capturing the other lovestruck idiot..."_ "Lloyd, you have to leave! Its not safe here!"

"Give her back!" Lloyd screamed at the leader. His heart felt like it was going to explode.

The goons laughed, then Lloyd saw it. The really big harpoon. the one in the green mask went to it and readied it.

The other ninja ran on deck. "Dude, thats a big gun." Kai said.

"Lloyd!" Ashlynn screamed at him. "You need to leave! they're too dangerous!"

"I'm not leaving!" He screamed back.

Ashlynn growled, then looked at the leader. "You've hurt him enough, leave him be." That threw Lloyd off a little. What? She looked back at him. "Lloyd...You need to leave, you won't be able to face her!"

"Face, not fight. Its someone from your past." "But...who?" "Ashlynn, what are you talking about?!" Lloyd asked.

Ashlynn glared back at the leader. "Show him..." The leader looked at her, then chuckled. She reached up and took her mask off. Lloyd felt his whole world crash down.

It was Harumi.

* * *

 **Hello, writer her, I apologize for the format of this chapter, I was stuck in 100% writers block doing this whole chapter, so i apologize. I hope you still enjoyed!**


	11. Chapter 11

Lloyd felt frozen, and it felt like his whole world was crushing on him. He couldn't hear anything, and his vision tunneled. All he could see was Harumi. She was actually there, but she was different. On her right side, she had a scar over her eye, making it cloudy. Her hair was buzzed down to her scalp on her right side, and it was cut short to her chin on the left. But it was her...

He felt his chest heavy, like he couldn't breathe...couldn't move...couldn't...think...

"...lloyd...Lloyd! LLOYD!" A voice cut through, and Lloyd snapped out of it. Ashlynn was screaming at him. He shook his head.

Harumi sneered. "Long time no see Lloyd. Didn't expect you here. I expected you to be at the Alpha's territory by now."

Lloyd gripped the railing and swallowed. "We...I couldn't go without Ashlynn."

"Huh?" _"Did he...?" **"Ashlynn, he loves you. There was no way he was going to leave you. Leave us."**_ _"I dug us all into this hole, haven't I?"_

"Aww, how sweet~." Harumi cooed. "Well, how about this? Give us the cloaks, and we'll give her to you. Seems fair, doesn't it?"

Lloyd felt clammy. He felt his mind and heart fighting. The cloaks, or Ashlynn?

"Don't do it Lloyd!" Ashlynn screamed. "I'm not worth it!" She growled at Harumi. "You are making a mistake!"

Harumi ignored her. The other shifters got closer to their railing. "Come on Lloyd. It's an easy decision."

Loyd swallowed. _"What do i do?" **"We can't give them to her. But we can't give up Ashlynn..."**_ _"Then it only gives us one option."_ "I'm not giving you the cloaks..." LLoyd glared at Ashlynn and his eyes glowed golden yellow. "But i am not leaving Ashlynn."

Harumi's smiled disappeared. "fine. Get them." Faux wings opened on the flightless' backs and they leaped and soared on the air towards the bounty.

"Get ready!" Lloyd yelled at the others. they grabbed their weapons.

Ashlynn watched the flightless soar for the bounty. She growled. "Harumi!"

Harumi looked at her and scoffed. "Please, don't tell me you care for him? He doesn't care about anyone but him and that team of his. His heart doesn't have room for you."

"You're wrong. You don't know him." She told her. _**"Keep her distracted, I can't shift for some reason. I'm going to give you some strength to break the chain."**_ _"I know we can't shift. Something is wrong."_

"Oh, so you know him so well?" Harumi grinned. "Yeah right. You don't know anything either." Harumi turned as the flightless got to the bounty and started fighting the ninja. She chuckled. "Let's make this more fun~" She went to a harpoon gun on the ledge and moved it.

Ashlynn strained against the chain. _"No, i have to move!"_ She growled and got up. Harumi didn't notice her and moved the harpoon towards Lloyd, who was fighting the guy in the green mask. Ashlynn felt this icy hot feeling and roared and body slammed Harumi.

The others on the bounty heard the roar and looked as Harumi was knocked down by Ashlynn. But it didn't last long, cause the leader swiped for Lloyd. He blocked.

"You might be able to change, human. But you are no match or fit for us!" He said.

"That's what you think, but I'm no ordinary human!" A ball of green energy filled his hand and he punched him across the deck, slamming him into another flightless member. Lloyd turned his attention back to the smaller ship.

Ashlynn got up, the chain around her wrists broken. Harumi was struggling to get up. Ashlyn went over the the gun and struggled to push it off. Harumi saw this. "No!" She grabbed a sword and rushed Ashlynn. Ashlynn jumped to the side as Harumi stabbed. "You will not mess this up for us! The Alpha will not have it!"

"No, your Alpha won't have it! Who is it?! Who do you follow?!" Ashlynn looked around the deck. The weapons were behind Harumi, so she didn't have those. _ **"Let us shift."** "Not yet. If i shift, that makes me a bigger target. I have to keep her distracted until the flightless are defeated. But why aren't they shifting?" **"They cannot fly. If the county went down with them on, they would fall as well."**_

"I am not dealing with a spoiled brat like you!" Harumi rushed her, but she swerved to the side and grabbed her wrist. She thrusts the sword into the boards, getting it stuck. She shoved Harumi and she almost fell over the edge, but grabbed it, and struggled to pull herself up. Ashlynn rushed over to the harpoon gun and started pushing it. It was bolted to the deck, but because it wasn't fully secure, the boards creaked, and so did the gun. _"More! Help me, please!_ " Áshlynn's dragon lent her more strength and they pushed it.

Harumi climbed on the deck just has the harpoon gun fell over. "No!" Harumi screamed and rushed at her. Ashlynn swatted her with the back of her hand and sent to towards the mast. Harumi whimpered, then Ashlynn grabbed her by the throat, and pinned her to the mast, her eyes solid red with a slit.

Lloyd punched away a flightless, then heard a scream. He looked over to see Ashlynn slap Harumi away, then pin her to the mast. Her movements weren't her, they were a little stiff. His stomach sunk. _"Her dragon..."_ Lloyd rushed to the edge. "Ashlynn, stop! don't do it!" He could see Ashlynn freeze and stiffen. "It's not you! You're not like them! You don't hurt people!" He turned as the flightless leader rushed him again. He growled and another ball of energy formed. "ASHLYNN!"

Ashlynn turned as the wave of energy spread through the ship, knocking over the flightless. She saw the leader get up. "Retreat!" They jumped over the edge of the bounty and soared into the dark. Ashlynn didn't know where there were going, or care. She looked back at Harumi. She was obviously scared, Ashlynn's hand around her throat. _"...What are we doing? He's right, we aren't like this..."_ Ashlynn let go and took a step back, breathing. she looked at Harumi. "Stay away. You act like you have everything under control, but you don't." Ashlynn turned towards the bounty.

Harumi, breathed...then sneered. _"That's what you think..."_

Lloyd got to the railing and saw Ashlynn. He smiled. "Ashlynn! Nya, bring the bounty closer!" Nya steered the ship and brought it closer to the smaller boat.

Ashlynn smiled and braced herself to jump...then Harumi came up behind her, holding a blue crystal dagger, and stabbed her in the back, lighting striking at that moment.

The stab felt hot and cold. Harumi grinned and she dug the dagger in deeper to Ashlynn back. "One thing a dragon like you should know...never turn your back on a living enemy." Harumi pulled the dagger out and Ashlynn fell over the edge.

 **"ASHLYNN!"** Lloyd roared, and jumped over the edge, diving after her. He only heard the rush of the wind, and his heart beating out of his chest. His vision tunneled so all her could see was Ashlynn. His dragon wasn't helping. H was trying to force his way forward and force shift, but Lloyd wanted to grab her first. He got closer and grabbed her, pulling her close. So many scents rushed his head. The rain, the air, Ashlynn, and the smell of blood. He hugged her close. "Now..." He started shifting...

Then the ground came into view to fast.


	12. Chapter 12(Final Chapter)

"I think they fell this way!" The ninja had the bounty flying low, shining a spotlight. They were looking for Lloyd and Ashlynn,, who crashed.

"I hope they're okay...I didn't see them after they fell through the clouds..." Kai looked around. "Guys, i'm incredibly worried. Lloyd has never done anything this rash before!"

"I'm worried about Ashlynn..." Nya said. "She didn't recover from that...It almost looked like the life was sucked out of her."

"Its a knife wound, she was literally stabbed in the back!" Jay exclaimed. "Anyone would have-!"

"Wait, there!" Zane pointed to a crater, and another one. "They must have feel and bounces. But the size of it, Lloyd was have shifted before the crash."

"Nya, land it there!" Cole pointed to the crater. Nya pulled the ship around and set it on the ground. They all jumped out and looked around.

"This way!" Kai pointed and they followed the craters. They were getting slightly smaller, and skidded. Traces of blood were streaked across. "They must be around here somewhere...Zane?"

Zane turned his eyes into lights and they scanned. "I'm picking something up..." they cleared a section of bushed. "! There!"

Two figure were clinging to each other by a small bundle of trees. Lloyd had a death grip on Ashlynn, blood on his hands and arms.

"Lloyd!" They ninja went down to them. Kai held a hand out. "Come on man, lets get-"

 **"Get away from her!"** Lloyd swiped at Kai, knocking him back a little. His eyes were solid gold colored with a black slit, and his teeth sharpened into fangs. He growled and hugged Ashlynn closer.

"Dude, easy..." Cole tried to calm him down.

 **"Stay away...she's mine..."** He growled.

"She's hurt..." Nya said. "Lloyd, we need to help her..." Nya waved a hand behind her to Zane to go around him. Zane stepped back into the shadows. "I know you're scared...we're worried too. Please, we have to help her, she's seriously hurt, okay? We're gonna help you, okay?" Nya took another step.

Lloyd slowly loosened his grip...Then jerked and fell over. Zane had his hand outwards, a hole in his palm, a dart in Lloyd's back.

"Zane!" Nya shouted.

"What? I figured the best way to get close to him was the drug him." Zane said nonchalantly.

"Well...no! no, we could have talked!" Nya exclaimed as Kai and Cole picked them both up.

"Let's argue later" cole said. "We need to get Ashlynn help."

Lloyd groaned and struggled to get up. **"...huh?"** He looked and he was chained to the wall and floor in a room on the bounty. **"! what?!"** He growled and struggled.

"Easy Lloyd..." Cole gripped his scythe tighter. The boys were watching him, making sure he didn't go dragon crazy. "You need to keep calm."

Lloyd growled. **"Let me go...where's Ashlynn?"**

"Nya is helping her. We kept away, knowing it would upset you." Kai told him.

"And please don't shift. If you do, Ashlynn can't get help." Jay tried to frantically explain.

Lloyd growled again. **"I need to see her...She needs my protection!"**

"She needs medical help. Nya is trying okay? I hope she's doing better than us..." Cole said.

***  
Nya ran some water over the wound. "You sure you know how to do this?" She asked Wu.

"I've had to suture wounds before. This is no different." Wu cleaned the needle and thread it. "You just keep the wound clean."

"Yes Sensei..."

***  
Ashlynn groaned and slowly opened her eyes. _"what...what happened?" **"Knife...anti-magic...hurt...Lloyd...Lloyd..."**_ She rubbed her head and tried to sit up, then hissed in pain.

"Easy, easy." Nya went over to her. "You need to stay lying down, you're hurt."

Ashlynn sighed. "What happened? I remember getting ready to jump...then falling..."

"You were stabbed by a weird knife, then Lloyd jumped after you. And something is wrong with him. It's like...he's not himself." Nya exclaimed.

 ** _"His dragon...I feel him calling...He's scared...he's worried...I am too...we need to see him..."_** _"I know...but it hurts..."_ "Nya, where is Lloyd?" She asked.

"The other room, they had to sedate him, but he might be waking up now..." Nya explained.

"Help me up..." Ashlynn slowly struggled to sit up.

"Ashlynn, you need rest. You've been hurt." Nya tried to lay her back down, but Ashlynn gripped her wrist.

"I need to see Lloyd...If he's not himself, his dragon is freaking out...I need to see him." She explained.

Nya sat still, then nodded. She put Ashlynn's arm over her shoulder and helped her up. They slowly walked their way down to the room the others were in.

They walked in, causing the ninja to turn.

"Oh my god, thank you! He's starting to scare us now!" Jay exclaimed.

Lloyd growled, then stopped when he saw Ashlynn. "Ashlynn!"

Ashlynn let go of Nya and slowly staggered to him, then went to her knees in front of him. She framed his face with her hand. He closed his eyes and purred, leaning into her hand. **_"She's okay...she's alive..."_**

"...You need to let Lloyd back in control." Ashlynn told him.

He shook his head. **"No! You're hurt, you were in trouble. You need my protection.!"**

"No, i don't." she said. "I am okay. I've been hurt before. But this isn't helpful or safe for either of you for you to be in control here."

 **"No. I can't. You need my help!** " He wasn't budging.

Ashlynn sighed. "We've tried talking to him." Kai explained. "But it wasn't working, he won't listen!"

Cole sighed. "We tried everything, but nothing-"

Ashlynn pulled Lloyd close and kisses him lightly. His eyes went wide, then he closed them, leaning into the kiss.

"We didn't try that." Jay stated nonchalantly, and Nya nudged him.

They sat there for a minute, then Ashlynn pulled back. LLoyd kept his eyes closed. "Please...give him back..."

He sat there for a minute, then sighed. He slowly opened his eyes, and they were his normal green. "A-Ashlynn...You were...you were hurt...blood...Harumi..." He closed his eyes as tears fell. "I was so scared..."

She rested her forehead against his. " I know, I know..."

"We'll uh...we'll let you be." Cole nudged his head towards the door and they left.

Lloyd wept silently. "Ashlynn...I don't know what's wrong with me...We barely know each other, but...I-I want you by my side, I want you safe...I..."

Ashlynn kissed his forehead. "I know, I know..." She reached under his neck and undid the cuff.

"Why is this happening?" Lloyd asked. "I-I've never felt this way before with anyone..."

"...When a dragon falls in love, they pursue the ends of the world for them." Ashlynn undid the cuff on his left arm. "They do anything for them...with dragon shifters, we have to deal with double the emotions, making it a grand miserable experience..." She under the one on his right arm and held his hand. "But...when both dragons feel for each other...It makes the positive emotions much better..." She smiled.

Lloyd looked her her hand. "...You awoke my dragon...I never knew he was there until i met you..."

"And I never would have experience such a wonderful world without you..." She kissed his hand.

Lloyd swallowed the lump in his throat and hugged her close. she smiled and returned the hug.

"...We can't separate like this again..." Lloyd stated. "The heartbreak hurts too much..."

"It does...I can't tell you how many times I caught myself turning around back towards you..." She leaned back. "...We need to go together."

Lloyd sat up. "You mean...?"

She nodded. "We need to bring the cloaks home. To the Alpha."

* * *

 **And that is it for the first book! I'm glad to have done this, i forget how fun this was.**

 **Now there will be a break in between here and the next story, I have to do some character reference drawings and get a few more chapters written and planned out.  
( _And little bonus, next story might be M rated, stay tuned~)_**

 **But I still had a bunch of fun doing this, I hope you all enjoyed and stay around for the next story!**


End file.
